Ambitions of Uzumaki Naruto
by Roy Rainyday
Summary: Known as The Smartest Fool, Naruto is actually is a quiet boy with an introverted personality. With his only friend being his female childhood friend by the name of Sayuri Uchiha, the last surviving Uchiha, he does not have that much people to talk to. Watch as he strives to be a better individual and form new bonds with the people he will meet in his journey. Gender bender.
1. Chapter 1

**A new story from me.**

 **And uh… review? Kindly…?**

* * *

"Hey Naruto, is that book you're reading more interesting than my lectures?"

Literally everyone, except the boy in question, flinches and gulps at the tone that their sensei is using. Several recognizable students like Haruno Sakura, Yamanaka Ino, Inuzuka Kiba and Akimichi Chouji are showing obvious discomfort and fear at the scary aura that their chunin sensei is oozing off his very being. It's not rare for Umino Iruka to get mad at his students, especially the boy in question… but this time, the smile that Iruka has on his face makes his look ten times more terrifying than normal. It is safe to say that the man is pissed. PISSED.

He can only spare the teacher a raise of an eyebrow, nothing more. The students around him cringe when he casually flips the page of the book, as if they can feel the pressure of the punishment that he is about to get just by looking at his nonchalant and I-don't-really-care attitude.

The boy is Naruto, or by his full name, Uzumaki Naruto. He's just an orphan, a quiet boy who sits at the corner of the class, that socially introverted kid who prefers his book more than human contact and apparently… ridiculously good in almost everything. He is wearing a simple but eye catching orange t-shirt with a black flame printed on the front torso area. He prefers short pants instead of long, explaining why he's wearing a pair of maroon colored shorts with a black belt to keep in place. He has a wristwatch on his left wrist, nothing too expensive, just the common type. And if it helps stereotyping his quiet demeanor, he also wears glasses. His blonde hair is unnaturally spiky, and his eyes are unnaturally blue; and the whisker marks on his cheeks are definitely unnatural.

He is also known as The Smartest Fool. By definition, a fool is someone who acts unwisely; a silly person. Synonyms may include words like idiot, blockhead, dope, dunce and others along the same line. But to call him The Smartest Fool… there is a reason for that. First of all, there is no denying that the boy is smart. He is the top ranking male student in class, the first of the entire batch of this year's students. However, he acts ignorant and uncaring about this one huge fact. Quite mean for them to call him a fool, really, because he does not act like one by any means. In fact, he is a well reserved boy, who keeps to himself and rarely talks. To call someone ignorant just because they are quiet and a little bit introverted… who's the fool here? There is also a matter of will. While he does all tasks given without questioning the teacher's authority, he won't hesitate to lay down facts that will make him look like he's going against that certain order. Of course, no one can really verbally argue with him, because every reason he stated has always been logical and true. This sort of behavior garners both positive and negative attention towards him. The teachers approve of his skills in terms of academic, but cannot tolerate the kind of blatant behavior he has. This goes the same for his classmates, some of them at least. His existence seems like a contradiction in itself… just like his nickname.

"Na-Ru-To." With every syllable, students begin to cower on their seats. Iruka's smiling lips are twitching, almost making it look like he's holding in a fart or something while in a conversation with a Hyuuga. "I asked you a question."

The sound of paper being flipped echoes throughout the room.

"Oh I hear you, sensei." That's it. That's the quiet voice of the introvert that everyone rarely hears. Hearing him talk is like waiting for rain in the middle of summer, almost no chance of it happening at all. He closes his book, snapping it shut with one hand. Calmly and composed, he takes off his glass with the other hand while simultaneously placing his book on the table at the same time. With a cloth he obtains from the inner pocket of his shorts, he begins to wipe the glass clear of dusts and whatever smudges that it has obtain after being worn for the day. He does so while closing his eyes, making everyone stare at him in awe at just how composed he is even when being confronted by a close-to-snapping demon teacher like Iruka.

He puts his glass back on. "I just don't think that it's wise for me to answer you."

As if instinctively, Inuzuka Kiba dives under his table, as if he's avoiding a nuclear blast.

If anyone is to listen closely, one can hear the SNAP that echoes within Iruka's cranium. Several more students cower when Iruka shifts his pose, crossing his arms. "Oh is that so?" can already taste the poison stanching the air when hearing Iruka's sickly sweet voice. "Can you explain why it is unwise for you to answer me?" the demon lord appears. **"Your teacher, if I may ask?"**

Chouji passes out, and Ino follows afterwards.

"Well," the blonde spectacled boy starts anticlimactically. "it's obvious that you thought that I was not paying attention to you."

'YOU MEAN YOU WEREN'T?!'…is what everyone, who is still conscious, are thinking altogether.

"But believe it or not, I was actually paying listening to you, sensei."

Iruka allows his restrained expression to drop, showing a flat look that he rarely shows to people. "Oh really? Then you'll have no problem if I ask you several questions that I had discussed earlier, right? After all, you were listening, weren't you?"

"Sure, no problem." He readjusts his glasses for added effects. And it pisses Iruka even more.

"Alright then." Iruka is quick to get into course. "When dealing with diplomatic relations in a foreign ninja village, what is there to be considered?"

Naruto's flat look is unfazed. "There are three things to be considered. First, is the village's political condition. In making contact with a foreign ninja village, it is important to notice that village's political condition. Aside from the fact that it's the most obvious course of action that is needed to be done, we can also get a glimpse of how their system works. For example, Konoha is a strictly Kage's-order village, every word that the Hokage says is law. Though the Kage may have elders or advisors to, obviously, advise him; the final decision and statement is still up to the Kage. The second thing is the village's economy. If that village is making a lot of money through the shinobi program, it is a likelihood that it has a strong militaristic aspect that acts as a pillar for that village's survival. However, it is also possible for a shinobi village to strive mostly due to normal civilian labors such as trading and services. Konoha itself is both strong in their shinobi side and their civilian side, creating for a balanced income gain, if not with a little surplus. And finally…"

His eyes close.

"…consider the citizens of that village. If their morale is good, then it is a sign of a good and stable reign on the Kage's side. But if it is not… then it is safe to say that complaints are commonly delivered to the Kage, that and competency will need to be reevaluated."

Silence.

Iruka sighs, mentally cursing the Gods for natural geniuses. "…Good work Naruto. Just don't let me catch you reading your book in the middle of my class again, alright?"

"…"

" **ALRIGHT?"**

"…I promise nothing."

Iruka's chalk crashes right on his forehead.

After that is recess. The final recess of the day.

"Is it really worth the pain?"

Even with the aching and soreness he's feeling on his forehead, not to mention how red it is, Naruto still looked composed and calm. The blonde haired glasses wearing boy slowly averts his eyes from the book he's reading underneath the tree that he's always reading under.

"To be honest, no." He replies flatly. "But the fact that I get to actually finish the chapter I was reading before getting scolded, yes, it was worth it."

Uchiha Sayuri sighs. If anything, she's more worried about her 'childhood' friend's future, instead of his current state. Sayuri's dark orbs for eyes linger upon the sitting boy's form, watching his quiet and pensive expression with flatness on her face. She is several centimeters shorter than Naruto, her grades are only a point below the blonde and her practical skills are slightly more… practical than the blonde's. She wears a black sleeveless blouse with a navy blue collar decorated with white linings, she also wears a matching white tie, there are two breast pockets stitched on the blouse, a thigh length black pleated skirt, a pair of black thigh high socks and a pair of navy colored ninja sandals. Her hair is a long waterfall of darkness, shining underneath the glinting sunlight as if it's made out of fine silk, her skin is charmingly pale with no signs of flaws or whatsoever, but she does have a beauty mark underneath her left eye. Her eyes are wide, naturally black and mysterious. She rarely has a smile on her face, and when she does, it will always be when Naruto's around.

She sits down next to her childhood friend, taking the empty spot on his right side. She stares at the scenery of children their age practicing their kunai and shuriken throwing skills on the training dummies in the back of the academy, on the practice field. She has finished her turn and Naruto finishes his long before her. They both scored a perfect score, twenty out of twenty. The sky begins to get a brighter shade of orange, showing that the time of dismissal is drawing near. But until then, she will enjoy the time she has currently.

"Ne, Naruto?"

"Hm?"

"…Who do you want to have in your team when we graduate later on?"

"You and Shikamaru."

Sayuri blinks at the speed of response. "That quick, huh? Why?"

"We cover all grounds." The blonde quietly answers. "With your physical strength, Shikamaru's brain, and my technique in solving problems; we are covering all grounds that needed to be covered." He then lets out an uncharacteristic grunt. "But the chances of that happening are slim, at least the part where we'll have Shikamaru as our team."

"Oh, why is that?" she knows, but she feels like asking.

Naruto uncharacteristically leaves his book, directing his momentary attention to the girl. "I know that you know, but you only feel like asking, right?"

Sayuri gives off a rare blush, one that she fails to hide from the boy. "S-Shut up…"

Naruto rolls his eyes, before returning back to his book to resume reading. "But if you want to hear it anyways… it's because there's a higher chance for Shikamaru to be placed in the team with Ino and Chouji. There are two reasons for this." He pushes his glasses using the knuckle of his middle finger. "Aside from following the status quo that a Nara is to be grouped with a Yamanaka and Akimichi, their compatibility rate is much higher than ours."

"How so?"

"…I can deal with you being a quiet person, and you can do the same with me." he answers. "No matter how lazy or uninterested Shikamaru makes himself look all the time, he will still need to get used to us being… well… us."

"So are you saying that the both of us are better off without another teammate?"

"…It can be interpreted that way, sure."

Sayuri smiles. She leans her head onto Naruto's right shoulder, a smile on her face. And when she does this, Naruto is not bothered a little bit. In fact, he rather likes it. It's a chilly evening, and he's wearing nothing but a single t-shirt since he left his jacket at home this morning. So, Sayuri provides him with warmth when being so close to him. He's sure that it's the same way for her too.

"Idiot… don't change." Sayuri breathily says, closing her eyes.

"…I don't plan to."

Good, because if he changes… then the Uzumaki Naruto she loves and care will be gone.

* * *

"Welcome! Oh, if it isn't Naruto-kun! Where's Sayuri-chan, she's not with you today?"

The quiet blonde takes a seat on one of the stools that the small ramen bar offers before answering, saying, "She needs to train early today, and she wouldn't tell me why…"

Teuchi smiles at his favorite customer's answer, though he's still a little unsatisfied with it. "It's surprising that she wouldn't tell you why, though. You two are literally inseparable; always sticking together like a bird from the same flock… she already ate, though, right?"

"She has." Naruto answers, never bothering to lift his eyes from his book. "I shoved a meat bun right into her mouth before she could object."

The middle aged ramen chef lets out a cheery laugh, finding both amusement and humor is his answer. "That sounds like the both of you! Never gets boring. Anyway, you're here for grub, right? Well just sit right there and read your book, I'll get one for ya' fresh from the pot."

In the middle of his reading, another presence appears from behind the counter, this time, she's the last female that Naruto has associations with. Ayame's expression lightens when her eyes landed on the book reading boy sitting on his usual spot. The older, but nonetheless young, woman squeals.

"Naruto-kyuuun! It's so good to see you!" somehow, using a secret that only women would know, Ayame – despite not being a shinobi or receiving any shinobi training at all – manages to magically appear right beside the reading boy. She begins to cuddle the young boy like a monkey would to a tree, rubbing her cheeks on his own cheeks, neck and even sniffing his distinct male scent into her system.

This nosy, overly attached and downright beautiful young woman is Ichiraku Ayame. She is the daughter of Teuchi, the ramen and head chef of this small establishment, making her a sous chef as well as an apprentice to her father. While ordinary, there's no denying Ayame's charm. Her taller and definitely adult figure makes for a huuuge contrast when compared to a certain younger but, regardless, still beautiful Uchiha. She has a tan complexion, one that she inherits from her elderly father. Her eyes are wide, colored in the color of oak. Her hair is long, kept together by the waitress headdress that she is currently wearing. Her feminine features are at the peak, considering her age.

"Hello Nee-chan." Naruto greets the girl who is literally rubbing her face all over his face with no embarrassment at all, as if the little fuck has gotten used to this treatment.

Ayame sighs in what seems to be pure bliss the moment his voice reaches her ears. "Haaaaah… hello to you too Naruto-chan…" she backs away for a second, staring intently at his face with a lot of love and affection. "So, when will you finally accept my request of being my legal little brother?"

"When pigs fly, Nee-chan."

"I can't wait for that!" the waitress grins stupidly, pumping her fist to the air. "Oh! Where's Sayuri-chan? Isn't she with you?" she finally notices what's missing in the picture, looking around for the presence of the black haired Uchiha.

"She's not here today, Nee-chan." Naruto drones out monotonously. "She said that she wants to train early today, so I'm here alone today."

Ayame puts an effort to think about it…

…before throwing it out the window.

"Oh well!" she resumes her embrace on the boy, holding him even tighter. "More of you to myself then, who's complaining?"

Naruto's eyes flicker with a small and subtle hint of annoyance.

If you do not know the relationship between the blonde and the Ichiraku's, then this sort of behavior and bonding may seem a little odd if not downright strange. But believe it or not, this is how most visits that the boy makes would be like. Even with Sayuri around, Ayame could always sink her claws into the blonde, with the former not showing any signs of displeasure or anything of the sort. This actually bugged Ayame to a point where she asked the girl when she's not visiting with Naruto.

'It's not like he's mine yet anyway.'…is that girl's answer.

That answer is surprisingly mature and irritating for Ayame at the same time. It's mature because it's rare to hear an answer like from a teenage girl like Sayuri and its freaking irritating because of the last two words. There's this small, but cold rivalry going on between her and the Uchiha girl, one that they keep hidden from Naruto. However, as much as Ayame enjoys it, it's an entirely different thing. It's obvious that Sayuri has romantic affections for the boy, and Ayame won't deny hers as well. But instead of romantic, it's leaning on to the sisterly type of love. It's hard to explain, but the closes depiction that she can give is the love a sister has for her hopeless little brother. Instead of romance, it's more of an obligation for her to care and love the boy. As she's said, it's hard to explain.

"Alright, your food's here Naruto-kun." Teuchi returns from the back of the shop, carrying a steam hot bowl of fresh ramen with him on top of a tray. "Eh, Ayame?" the old ramen chef mutters in confusion. "What are you doing here, since when were you here?"

"Since the last few hour, dad." Ayame mutters. "Didn't you see me inside?"

Teuchi shrugs. "Oh well, enjoy the food Naruto-kun and tell me if you want seconds, it'll be on the house."

Naruto snaps his book shut, and with Ayame no longer attached to him she is before, he can finally enjoy dinner at his own pace. Breaking apart the chopsticks he retrieves from the small dispenser, he digs into his steaming bowl of ramen that he calls the food of the Gods.

He enjoys ramen for the reason that it is satisfying. Unlike any other food out there, ramen will always give him that sense of satisfaction that none other can compare. The softness of the noodle's texture is akin to the hair of the angels themselves. The broth is thick and delicious, having been made from boiling pig bones for three days straight. The fine pork belly that are sliced thinly are to die for, their thin layer of fat seemingly capable of melting the instance it's inside the mouth. And the aftertaste is just as good as the first bite, leaving his mouth warm and taste receptors crazy with how wonderful it was.

He wants more.

* * *

"Hey, come on in."

"Uhm."

It's not rare for him to visit Sayuri's home. In fact, it's a routine that he does almost every day of his life. Every time school's done for the day, they would always make a trip to her house just to relax and unwind; sometimes they would train together by sparring or having competitions, and even do homework together, even though they're doing their own respective works. Sayuri lives in the abandoned and lonely Uchiha district. Why she's still living here after what has happened here is beyond anyone, but not Naruto. He knows why she's still living here, here in the place where all of her relatives and families are slaughtered by her very own brother.

Entering Sayuri's house is one of the few rarest moments where he would not touch his book at all. Since Sayuri's deceased father was the clan head of the Uchiha's, her house is the biggest and is located at the center most position of the large clan compound.

The door behind him closes when he's finally inside the house. He removes his sandals, slowly and carefully slipping it off from his legs with no trouble at all. He mutely excuses himself to take another step into the house, following after the legitimate owner of the house. As usual, the things here have not change. If he remembers correctly, Sayuri once told him that she hadn't touched anything ever since her family was… massacred. There are still pictures hanged on the wall, vases but without the flowers in them, her mother's old sewing kit placed neatly on the corner of a long table, and a family picture of the Sayuri's family sitting on the edge of a drawer several steps away from the living room.

They reach the tatami matted living room. Naturally, since it has tatami mats instead of traditional wooden ones like the rest of the interior, there are no chairs for them to sit on, making sitting on the floor their only option. Again, the things that are in here are unchanged; even when Sayuri's been living here all alone. She rarely leaves her room, only doing it when she's going to take baths or train at the backyard. She even eats dinner in her room. She cannot bring herself to spend or waste time outside of her old room, because being alone in this place makes her feel miserable. Yet, she refuses to leave, though she's making herself feel miserable.

Of course, she won't feel miserable so long as he's around.

"Hey, must you always do that?" if anyone's seeing the slight pouty expression she's making, then they will have their lower jaw crash through the floor with no doubt.

"Do what?" the composed blonde wonders, flipping a page from a book he has just brought out from his pants' pocket.

"Reading." She says in a displeased tone. "I'm here you know, it's rude to not pay attention to a lady when she's in front of you."

Seeing no reaction from the blonde irks Sayuri to the max. Huffing, she straightens her back before marching towards the boy stiffly. She stands in front of him, standing in full height, her form towering over his seated one. She plans to block the light, hindering his ability to read, but it's no good, she knows that he can still read. Frowning, Sayuri is certain that this calls for direct measures. Brazenly, she grabs and chucks the book that the boy is reading somewhere on the corner of her living room, she plops herself right in front of the blonde, sitting on his lap with her face facing his. Ignoring the rather risqué position they are in, Sayuri actually pays it no mind at all. It's fine if it's Naruto, after all.

"…Really?"

Her pouty face is his answer.

If you look a little bit closely, you can see the corner of the boy's flat lips tugging downwards, making a very secretive frown. Naruto knows that he has not been paying attention to Sayuri the moment he entered the house, in fact, he has just noticed just how minimally dressed she is. Usually, Sayuri would be more clothed and dressed. But right now, she's wearing only a single piece of grey tank top that hung loosely on her form, a very short shorts covered by the excess part of her tank top and she has her normally flowing hair tied to a ponytail.

He shows no reaction, still. Then, he sighs.

"Alright, what do you want to do?"

"Hug me."

Without objecting, or finding anything odd with the request, he hugs her. He wraps his arms around her smaller and feminine frame. Though he's slightly embarrassed to admit it, hugging, holding hands and sleeping on each other's shoulders are things that they commonly do… like… a lot. They just don't show it in front of their classmates, otherwise the attention will be all over them. For a moment, just as usual, he can feel Sayuri's smaller form shivering from the embrace. He does not let go of this, nor does he tighten his hug. He just sits there, giving his hands, body and chest for the girl who is also his childhood friend.

"…Can you stay tonight?"

He blinks once, before answering immediately. "Sorry… I have to do several things at home… I'm sorry."

He can feel her head shaking on his chest. "No, that's fine." Is her muffled response. "Just…" a sigh of content and comfort escapes from her mouth. "Let me stay like this until I'm asleep…"

This is how visits to Sayuri's house would turn out like, usually longer thus making it common for Sayuri to ask if he's free to stay the night. Naruto is anything but dumb, maybe he is, but at least he's smart enough to realize that Sayuri sees him more than just a childhood friend. He's also aware that Sayuri knows this, but naturally, she won't just blurt it out to him like some sort of automated answering machine. It's no secret between them, they are both aware of it. It's just a matter of action and time. Who will be the one to act first and when. Naturally, it should be her who should speak to him, but he feels obligated to do something more since he's the one she's fallen for.

So until then, until the both of them are older and more mature, this is the least he can do for his childhood friend.

…

…

…

"Ah, I brought ramen."

"…baka."

She flicks him right on the forehead for that.

"Ow." His lips turn to a full frown. "That's mean."

Sayuri giggles uncharacteristically. "But seeing you like this is good in its own way."

"Yeah, at my expense…"

Sayuri pokes his left cheek, softly, much to his annoyance. She pulls away from him, letting go of the hug. "So, where's the ramen?" she looks around the room for a plastic bag of some sort, but finds none.

"Ah." The blonde's normally stoic face shows a face of realization. "I ate it on the way here."

Sayuri guffawed, falling to a kneeling position, clutching her stomach due to the aching laughter. "You…! You really…! Hahaha!" her laughter seems to be unending, as she begins to repeatedly slamming her fist on the tatami matted floor. Her reaction of his… airheaded antic is not very pleasing for him, thus the growing frown on his face. Yet at the same time, there's no denying the redness that is slowly creeping its way from the top of his head down to his neck.

"You…! hahaha!" She gasps for air, nearly choking herself from laughing too much. After a little while, her laughter dies down, reduced to giggling and amused chuckles. "You're really an idiot, Naru."

He diverts his eyes away from the girl's stare, not really wanting to look at her. "…"

"Aww… don't get cranky just because you're secretly a klutz, Naru." She pokes his other cheek, doing so with only little resistance coming from the boy. She smiles charmingly, quite a rare sight for others aside from Naruto. "I was just kidding, and don't get upset over it. I ate already."

"…Tomatoes barely count as dinner."

She blushes, the roles reversed. "S-So what? As long as I'm full, then it's fine, right?"

Naruto shrugs, not really knowing how to reply to that.

"Anyway, you want to spar with me?" Sayuri offers. "It's late, but I'm still up for a spar if you want to."

"You took a shower already, right?" Naruto asks, softly. "Won't you get sweaty again?"

"It's fine, I can always shower again." She waves his worry off nonchalantly. "So, what do you say?"

Naruto is in a deep thinking moment, his head tilted sideways while both eyes are looking at the ceiling. He finally answers, "No, sorry. My tummy's hurt because I just ate ramen on the way here."

"T-Tummy…" Sayuri murmurs, feeling something tickling her legs, demanding her to glomp the hell out of the glasses wearing blonde. "He said tummy…" she mutters in an even lower tone.

This is one of the joys of being with Naruto. Childhood friend or not, as long as you stick around, converse with, and interact with him long enough, you will get to see one of his 'moe' side. Despite for having a reputation as someone who's smart and quiet, Naruto still uses childish terms when referring to things. Like… tummy when he's referring to his stomach, or boo-boo when he's referring to a wound. Sayuri does not care what others might think, because for her, it's downright cute. What makes it more special is the fact that she's the only person on earth who gets to see Naruto like this first. At public, he's always shown his introverted and quiet demeanor, making him unapproachable by his peers. Even though it's literally the pot calling the kettle back, her observations are true. At least she has several contacts, but Naruto has none.

That worries her a little bit, no, a lot.

Ever since they were little, Sayuri already notices that Naruto's only friend was her that an he never plays with the other children. She knows that he is an orphan, but even so, that's not a reason for him for not having friends, right? Now that she is already, she recalls how the adults would tell their children to stay away from him as if he's some sort of plague, and it sickens her.

She's about to get deeper into her thought, but Naruto interrupts her.

"…I think I want to go home, I'm sleepy." He lets out a yawn that's far too cute for someone who has a face like his, but it's still cute regardless.

"Guh…!" Sayuri is forced to punch herself right on the gut to prevent her body from launching itself upon the blonde. "I-Is that so?" she says with a rather restrained expression. "Do you want me to walk you home?"

"No thanks…" his eyes then begin to drift, eyelids growing heavier as he begins to sway around like a nine year old who's gone past his bedtime. "On second thought… maybe I'll stay the night here after all… I'm…" he yawns again. "sleepy… already…"

'SCORE!' "Good, let me prepare my be-I mean an _extra_ bed for you then."

Needless to say, sleep is hard for the girl.


	2. Chapter 2

"One hundred ninety nine… two hundred…!" Naruto pulls himself up the iron bar that he's using to do his pull ups. His face is full of sweat, dripping down his cheeks, neck and soaking the sleeveless undershirt he often times wear underneath his t-shirt. His arm muscles are wobbling from the strain, but he refuses to give in to pain. He does several more sets, adding another ten pulls to his count, this does a lot of strain to his muscle even more. Though sweaty and strained, his face does not contort into anything that shows his tiredness and the overall soreness he's feeling in his arms. He keeps a straight face, while continuing to do his pull-ups, muttering each number of pulls he manages to do.

Obviously, he's doing his daily workout routine. Earlier, he's done several runs around his apartment block, twenty laps if he's not mistaken, two sets of pushups with one being a hundred and fifty times and the same with sit ups. Right now, he's only halfway through his workout routine. The cozy private penthouse that was gifted to him by the Hokage when he was younger is reek of his sweat and stench, given since he's currently sweating a lot. There's this piece of iron bar that's fixed to two walls in the large living room, he's manipulated it to be used for his pull ups, seeing as there's no particular use for it aside from just being there.

It might seem weird for a boy like him to own a somewhat luxury penthouse. But originally, this place isn't luxury at all. When the Hokage gives him the building, there were furniture, but most of them were broken or unmanaged to the point where they're close to breaking down. He repaired whatever he could such as sewing the fabric of the sofas, oiling the rusty cupboard hinges, nailing the table's legs to make it sturdier and many more. Don't get him started on how dusty it was. But now that that's no longer an issue, this place looks like it's been gone through several remodeling. There are better furnitures now, a television, plants, proper lightings and the large smoked windows are no longer having the opposite effect of disabling the one inside to see outside of the penthouse. The stairs are also fixed, since he didn't know how to do it properly, he had the Hokage hire several handymen to do the job.

The sky terrace is also cleaned up, but the pool is still empty though.

"Two hundred and ninety nine… three hundred!" he lets go of the grip to let his feet touch the floor. He breathes slowly, trying to steady it. He's build up quite the sweat… drenching his undershirt in it completely. Knowing the effect of wearing something wet for too long, he takes off his sweat-drenched undershirt, before throwing it into the dirty laundry bin. He should have probably squeezed the sweat out first in the bathroom but whatever.

He grabs a nearby dry towel to wipe his face and neck dry from sweat, doing so slowly as not to damage his skin. He rubs his arms, feeling them aching from the workout he's done. He frowns, is he really that out of shape or maybe… he's not just doing enough. He would continue his session for another hour, but unfortunately, he has an appointment with a certain someone. Hanging the towel on his neck, he proceeds to transition over to the master bedroom, where his private bathroom is at. He hits the shower, and after he's done, he changes to his usual attire that consists of a t-shirt with another fresh set of undershirt underneath it, a pair of khaki shorts, his ninja sandals and now an orange-blue jacket which he leaves unzipped. He grabs his glasses that he always place on the end table near his bed before wearing them.

He exits the penthouse, before proceeding down to the stairs, consuming several minutes of his time due to it being at the top floor. This apartment complex is huge, but the problem is, no one lives here anymore. He won't say that it's due to his presence here, but it's the closest conclusion he can come up with. So technically, he owns the entire damn building.

The streets of Konoha in a weekend's morning are usually quiet, but today is an exception, for whatever reasons that are unknown to him. The street area in front of his apartment complex is already bustling with minor activity. He can see shops preparing to open for their business, people getting to their workplaces, and youths his age getting ready to set out for an adventure. The warm summer breeze makes contact with his skin, letting it cool down. Konoha is divided into four sectors; North, South, East and West. The North, the place where he's at, is where most of the shopping stores and districts are at. And since the academy's located at the base of the Hokage Mountain, which is also located on the North, then it is also here in this region.

The South is where the Shinobi Clans' compounds are, seeing as they are located there, he assumes that they could act as the village's first line of defense against invaders. This area is also the second most ninja populated area, next to the West. Originally, he used to live in a smaller apartment in the South, but since he was kicked out, the Hokage gave him his current one located in the North. The Eastern region is mostly populated with factories and slums, making it the only place in Konoha where shady criminal activity takes place.

Konoha's military or shinobi personnel are not many, per say; that honor goes to Kumo and Iwa. He read it in a book once and will quote that Konoha prefers 'quality over quantity'.

Naruto has no need to bring his book, since he's only planning to make a short trip before making his way back home. His appointment is going to be between him and the Hokage in the Kage's office, that sets him off to the direction of the academy building.

* * *

"Please take a seat, Naruto-kun."

The wise Sarutobi Hiruzen smiles kindly as he offers the empty chair across of his desk for the young boy to sit on. Naturally, Naruto accepts, sitting down quietly without saying anything. Hiruzen is pleased to see the young blonde, he's always pleased. His surrogate grandson may not be the most talkative child out there, but he's good at listening and asking question, no doubt two proving factors as to why he's excelling in his academics.

One of Naruto's hidden qualities would be his ability to contain his emotion, in contrast to those who are around his age, he is way calmer and quieter; almost to a point of being an introverted boy.

"Would you like some sweets, Naruto?" He offers the bowl containing several small packaging of candies that he always has for refreshments to the boy.

Not surprisingly, the boy rejects the offer. "No thanks, Hokage-sama. I don't want to get toothaches anymore."

"Ah…" he remembers something, and the realization shows on his old face. "Was your last visit to the dentist that terrifying, Naruto?" Hiruzen asks, hidden amusement beginning to show.

"…" The boy frowns, eyes downcast for a brief moment. "Trauma is proof that I'm alive, Hokage-sama."

"True." Hiruzen agrees, finding his answer interesting. "Not to mention that you were five the last time you visited the dentist."

"Jii-chan…"

Hiruzen laughs like an old, but good natured man would do, wiping a small tear that has escaped the corner of his eye. "Alright, I'll stop. So, you must be wondering why I've called you here." It's not a question, but a statement given to him in order to show Naruto that the Hokage is getting into business. "Well, Naruto-kun, you don't have to worry about getting into trouble or anything like that. I called you here just so that I can ask you how you have been doing lately."

Naruto invisibly relaxes, but his shoulders still shrug upon hearing the reason. "I'm fine. There's no trouble or anything that's worth mentioning, Hokage-sama." His eyes flash. "But… I've ran out of books to read for the month." If he is sad, then this is as sad as he can be. Or at least the saddest he could show.

"Oh?" Hiruzen is honestly surprised. It's rare to see the boy walk around without reading a book, and even rarer to hear him tell him that he's run out of books to read. As someone who regularly visits the boy's penthouse, still wondering how on earth did he came up with the decision of giving a young boy a penthouse of his own, Hiruzen knows of the collection of books that Naruto owns. Saying that the boy is an avid reader would be an understatement; the boy loves reading as much as he loves ramen… maybe not so much, but it's as close as that.

"Won't the bookshops have any new books in their archives?" Hiruzen asks.

Naruto shakes his head. "No… not yet. New books are not due for another… two weeks and… I'm embarrassed to say that I can't possibly wait that long." The stoic blonde attempts his own version of an 'embarrassed' expression. Okay, it's still looking as flat as usual.

Hiruzen understands it now.

"So in other words…" the old man stretches out. "You are bored, Naruto-kun."

"…It's… yes, I am."

Hiruzen stares owlishly, eyes unblinking. There's really nothing much he could do about this, really. Giving Naruto his collection of books would not be appropriate since they are… ahem… _intended_ for the adult audiences. The boy is smart, borderline genius, even, dare he says it. So there's really no point in helping him with things to improve on in terms of academics. He's also shown great efficiency in practical exercises… that narrows down Hiruzen's option even more. There's really no point in counting the number of choices he has, since it's too little for him to count.

The Third Hokage's eyes widen, realizing something.

 _Numbers_ … that's it.

"Wait for a moment, Naruto-kun. I think I'm going to give you a little gift." _'And hopefully with this, you will be able to forgive me for all the things I could've done but didn't do for you.'_

The blonde whiskered Uzumaki tilts head. "But… it's not my birthday…" his glasses glints slightly from the angle his head is at.

"It isn't, but consider it a gift from this old man, Naruto-kun." He still senses the somewhat lingering air of doubt that floats around the blonde. "Trust me, it will surely do you good favor in your career as a shinobi." Saying that immediately garners the boy's full attention, just as he expects. "But, what I am about to give you is to remain a secret, when asked, you must not reveal that I deliberately gave it to you. Is it clear, Naruto-kun?"

"Yes."

"Good." The old man smiles, before opening the drawer compartment underneath his desk. He pulls something out, something large, cylindrical and made out of paper. When Naruto lays his eyes on the item, he immediately understands why the Hokage is insistent on making it a secret. It's a scroll that's only several inches shorter than him, paper colored and it still has the paper seal that prevents it from opening. Naruto's wide span of knowledge allows him to identify the seal as a normal but important paper seal that's used to prevent private documents from being 'contaminated'.

"This scroll contains four jutsu." The old Hokage starts speaking, his tone straightforward. "And I want you to learn the jutsu that are listed here and, hopefully, master them." Naruto is so distracted by the scroll that he fails to notice the somewhat grim-like expression on Hiruzen's face. "…if I do not know that you're capable of doing the jutsu that are listed here, I won't have the idea of letting you know about them in the first place. However, I have faith in you, Naruto-kun; that you will be capable of doing them just like any other jutsu out there."

'…just like any other jutsu out there' can be interpreted as the Hokage implicitly telling him that the four jutsu in the scroll are not common jutsu used by ninjas. Soon the boy begins to realize just how important that scroll is. It might just have a personal or private relation with the Kage himself.

"Take it, my boy, and use it well." As if surrendering his very own hat, Naruto cannot reject it. "And may you grow to be the best person that would make your people proud."

Naruto holds the scroll in his hands, barely feeling them at all due to the workout sessions he always does. He stares at the object for a few more seconds, giving it some serious staring, before diverting his gaze back to the Hokage, away from the scroll.

"I…will do my best, Hokage-sama!"

Hiruzen smiles, giving a satisfied nod.

* * *

Uchiha Sayuri closes the door behind her, the door which also happens to be her house's door. She lets out a contained sigh, feeling the warm summer breeze hitting her uncovered arms as it sends light shivers down her spine. The Last Uchiha of Konoha closes her eyes, steadily taking deep breaths as she seems to be preparing her mind for something.

Directly outside of her house is the street where her… brother _murdered_ the rest of her clansmen at. Every time she stares at the street for too long, visions would start to invade her brain, messing with her composure, dragging her down to a state of post-traumatic stress. She hates the feeling, but she hates the fact that she could not do anything to prevent it even more.

When asked, people would say that her clan's massacre was the result of tragedy. It was pure tragic, as if the Gods themselves have had decided for her life to be miserable and full of suffering.

And that insulted her.

It was not, by any means, _tragic_. Tragedy happens without cause, without aim. The massacre… Itachi has an aim. He has one. And it's wicked, sick and downright evil to the very core. Her brother is not the same person she admires, not anymore. He's a monster. A monster that she will forever loathe and hate until the moment of her death… no… she will continue to spite him for as long as she lives, maybe that hate will transcend death itself.

The light shivering has grown into a full grown traumatic sign. She embraces herself, realizing that she has yet to take a step forward. This normally happens… explaining why her attendance is not perfect. As always, she cannot do anything. In fact, the more she tries to drive the vision away, the longer it plays out in her mind. Her foundation cannot take it, she falls to her knees. She gasps, as if the air around her has been turned into poison. Her hands clutch her head; she can feel the vision of her clansmen and parents getting murdered directly probing her mind. The nails of her fingers begin to dig in too deeply into her skin.

"…Uugh…! Heeek…! Huff…!" her voice is a jumbled mess of vowels. She tries to scream, but couldn't.

 _ **WhatshouldIdo?**_ _WhatshouldIdo?_ _ **WhatshouldIdo?**_ _WhatshouldIdo?_ _ **WhatshouldIdo?**_ _WhatshouldIdo_ _ **? WhatshouldIdo?**_ _ **WhatshouldIdo?**_ _WhatshouldIdo?_ _ **WhatshouldIdo?**_ _WhatshouldIdo_ _ **? WhatshouldIdo?**_ _WhatshouldIdo?_ _ **WhatshouldIdo?**_ _ **WhatshouldIdo?**_ _WhatshouldIdo?_ _ **WhatshouldIdo?**_ _WhatshouldIdo?_ _ **WhatshouldIdo?**_ _WhatshouldIdo?_ _ **WhatshouldIdo?**_ _ **WhatshouldIdo?**_ _WhatshouldIdo?_ _ **WhatshouldIdo?**_ _WhatshouldIdo?_ _ **WhatshouldIdo?**_ _WhatshouldIdo?_ _ **WhatshouldIdo? WhatshouldIdo?**_ _WhatshouldIdo?_ _ **WhatshouldIdo?**_ _WhatshouldIdo?_ _ **WhatshouldIdo?**_ _WhatshouldIdo?_ _ **WhatshouldIdo?**_

 _?_

Is this even real life anymore?...

' _Ah… who cares… I'm scared… someone… anyone…'_

"Sayuri?"

It disappears.

Sayuri's head snaps upward, eyes drawn to the speaker.

"Sayuri… what happened?" she can hear the concern in his, and it is reassuring. She sees him rush towards her, carrying something cylindrical on his back. "Are you hurt?"

His soft, quiet yet unarguably concerned voice sends calm shivers down her spin. She fails to realize that her tears have been pouring down all this time; she is just too shocked and traumatized to notice them.

"What happened?" his voice asks again, hands holding her shoulders as he tries to show concern through his voice instead of his expression. "Did you trip and fall?"

Instead of an answer, he gets Sayuri lunging at him at full speed, sending the both of them crashing to the ground. Given, due to the suddenness and surprise, he isn't expecting an embrace like this at all. All attempts to question the girl for her behavior is halted when he hears her crying into his chest, shoulders shaking and tears staining his shirt. Naruto is no stranger when it comes to Sayuri getting like this, so emotional and suddenly breaking down. He knows why she's like this… there's no doubt that it has something to do with her deceased family and the incident that happened in this very place years ago.

Sayuri rarely cries, but she does suffer from sudden breakdowns like this from time to time, especially in the mornings like this. Sometime, he would be aware of it and sometimes not. It's entirely depending on the circumstances of his presence around Sayuri, but he has dealt with this before. Softly and quietly, he rubs the crying girl's back through her long hair and blouse, all the while bringing his lips close to her ear, whispering soft hushes and words of reassurance into it. Steadily, her full blown wailing slowly recedes into hiccups and choked sobs. She is still wrapping her two arms strongly around her childhood friend's neck, seemingly showing or having the intention of letting go.

Slowly, Naruto helps her back up to her feet, ushering her out of the compound's ground. Once outside, he leads Sayuri to the Uchiha Clan's compound walls, letting her sit down on the dirt while leaning her back against it. He is there, of course, crouching in front of her with his hand rubbing her shoulders gently like what a normal person would do when comforting their friend. He watches stoically as Sayuri shivers and sniffles with red eyes – not her bloodline – due to crying. Frowning, Naruto finally speaks.

"You need to move out from here."

Yes… yes, that's right.

* * *

She is aware of the fact that Naruto owns an entire apartment building all to himself. She is the only person, outside of the Hokage obviously, to have found out about it from Naruto himself. Still, entering the luxurious penthouse makes her fancy clan house looks small when compared. This makes her slightly nervous, even though knowing that it's Naruto's place. Maybe it's because she doesn't visit this place as much as Naruto does to her place. Yeah… perhaps that's why.

She slowly slips out from her sandals, clutching the travel pack she has fitted with the majority of her clothes and other necessities. She marvels at the large windows that allows for viewing of the scenery outside, noticing that they are only see through from the inside. She also notices the large spiral staircase that leads upstairs to the sky terrace. She visited before, but still… this makes it feels like it's her first time visiting his place. Naruto walks past her, naturally as he is the owner of the house.

"What are you standing there for?" the blonde nudges with his head. "Come in. You'll be living here now."

Sayuri gulps, feeling her body shivering briefly. She brushes away all feelings of nervousness, trying to make her first step as natural as she could. She sets down her pack on one of the living room's couches. Naruto also sets his own haul down on the other couch.

"What's that?" Sayuri asks, she cannot help it. It's rare to see someone carry a scroll that big around, even if they're introverted readers like Naruto. She doubts that he even read scrolls in the first place.

Naruto pauses, as if thinking whether he should answer her or not. "It's a gift from Hokage-sama."

Sayuri looks surprised, if not confused. "A gift? Why would he want to give one to you? It's not like today's your birthday…" she knows when his birthday is, October 10.

"True." Naruto nods. "But he said that felt like giving me a gift, I assume that it has something to do with him being in the age he's in."

Sayuri slightly opens her mouth, letting it hang. "Did you just indirectly call the Hokage himself, old?" her voice contains disbelief and astonishment at the same time.

"He is old, Sayuri… I'm not sure what you're trying to say." Naruto, though he may not look confused, he sounds as if he is.

Sayuri giggles, finding the blonde's bluntness cute and funny at the same time. "So, what's inside?"

The glasses wearing blonde readjusts his eyewear, zipping off his jacket, throwing it to the couch next to him before sitting down. "Hokage-sama preferred it if I keep the contents of the scroll between me and himself…" he does his own version of a small frown. "I'm sorry Sayuri, but it's a secret."

The last Uchiha shakes her head, totting over to him, sitting down next to the boy. "It's fine." She, herself, frowns. "It's not like I'm upset or anything." She, mentally, curses. She blames her inability to be honest when speaking sometimes…

"Okay then."

Great, now she's a little bit irritated that he's brushing it off easily. Why must their relationship be so comfortable yet complicated at the same time? Oh yeah, it's because the both of them are not good at starting a serious one…

"I have cookies in a jar in the kitchen, if you want them you can have some." He takes a moment to look at her by taking his off from the scroll he's opened, eyes narrowing slightly. "But no more than half, I need them for snack time later."

Sayuri giggles again, shaking her head while extending her head to pat the blonde's head. "Yeah, yeah, I won't eat them all." She stands up, goes into the kitchen and retrieves the cookie jar that Naruto told her. "It's this one, right?"

"Yeah, it's chocolate chip flavored."

"Very sweet, then."

As Sayuri is enjoying her snack, Naruto is immersed in the content of the scrolls. As expected, the scroll begins with an introductory statement from the writer, stating that whoever has opened this scroll or read it must realize that the techniques listed here are to be used responsibly. The author deliberately tells the reader – him – that the techniques listed are not meant to be used to the point of abuse, and that any violation, damages, death or any other form of disaster caused by the techniques are liable only to the user that and the author or writer is not responsible in any way or form. It's a pretty long disclaimer, nearly three hundred words. But once it's starting to get into the main topic, things begin to turn from interesting to great immediately.

Four jutsu. One is called the **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** , another is **Katon: Madan** , **Suiton: Tsunami** and the last one **Raiton: Raiden**. Naruto has never heard or read these techniques from the academy's library before, even in the advanced jutsu section, he has never heard of them. So no wonder that the Hokage implied that these were not common ninja techniques used from time to time. There are descriptions describing the effects and how to use them and he quickly goes over them.

The **Kage Bunshin** seems simple as it has the shortest description out of all the rest, only three lines worth of words. It is similar to the regular clone technique, but it produces solid clones instead of the normal ones. It is listed as a B-rank technique, which surprises him, but that surprise is replaced with realization when he knows that it consumes a lot of chakra to just produce one clone. Well it won't be a problem for him, since he has a lot of chakra. Basically, in order to do it, the user will need to do a cross hand seal. This is interesting since the cross hand seal is rarely used for any jutsu, in fact, it might not be even used for any practical jutsu at all. The user must then channel their chakra, channeling as much as they can in order to produce more clones. This makes Naruto glad, in a way. His chakra control is not the best, as it took him weeks of practice just to make a single normal bunshin. But with the **Kage Bunshin** , it seems that he won't have to worry about channeling too much chakra.

Next is the **Katon: Madan**. A fire based jutsu, something that Sayuri will definitely fancy instead of him. He prefers less flashy techniques, as simple ones will do just fine instead of brilliant and extravagant jutsu that requires you to exert more chakra than needed to beat an enemy. Basically, this jutsu summons these 'wards' around the users, appearing on thin air. These 'wards' are then able to shoot solid flaming projectiles as fast as bullets. It's listed as an A-rank so no wonder it's so destructive. The main purpose of this jutsu is to harm and turn the tide of battle quickly, which means it's an offense-support type of technique which will consume a lot of chakra, and he's right, it's written here. Due to it being a fire element, damages will be guaranteed, if not then no money returned since he didn't pay anything in order to get this scroll. Still, it is an interesting technique and will no doubt be useful in his future career. Just have to make sure that Sayuri doesn't find out about this.

The **Suiton: Tsunami** is pretty self-explanatory. Just like normal elemental techniques, it conjures that particular element into the form of a highly devastating offensive attack that could pretty much wipe an entire area clear. Unlike **Katon: Madan** , this one has less collateral in it and it consumes less chakra too. However, it is still and A-rank, seeing as a lot of practice and mastery over the water element is needed in order to perform it. That won't be a problem for him. What will be a problem is determining whether or not this jutsu will be useful. While he's confident, he prefers fighting in a distance, giving his enemy the disadvantage by forcing them to reach him while he can be spamming a lot of ranged jutsu. This technique requires him to get closer to a group of enemy in order to reach the maximum level of damage that it can cause. Risky, but a quick and easy solution of creating an even bigger space between you and your enemy.

Lastly is the **Raiton: Raiden**. The scroll briefly mentions it as a lightning jutsu that allows the user to summon a sword of lighting. Literally. The user is then, depending on their mastery of the technique, capable of using their lightning sword like regular swords or even a glaive. This interests him more than the previous one as it discusses the possibility of conjuring lightning to be used as a practical weapon like a sword. It is an A-rank technique, so high chakra consumption is to be expected – though probably not as much as **Katon: Madan** – as well as mastery of the technique before he could utilize it to its full potential. And by the description he's reading, if he uses it correctly, he can use it as a ranged attack when in battle. Not to mention, lightning itself serves as a literal element of surprise which will be capable of shocking his targets. He swears, the puns were not intended.

He reads the scroll until the very last end, only to find that it's at least several hundred words worth of closing sentences, so he cuts that short.

"Hm… no name?" he whispers, finding it weird that after all of this, the author didn't bother to write his or her name. Nothing he can say about that. He quickly memorizes the hand seals that are required to perform the jutsu, doing so quickly. After he gets them all memorized, a process that only took no more than twenty minutes of repeated reading, he rolls the scroll again to seal it back.

He takes his eyes off the scroll, taking a glance at Sayuri. His hands drop the large scroll, letting it fall to the floor, rolling away to the other side of the room. If he's more expressive, he would have been sitting there with his mouth hanging wide open and his eyes wide. But since that's not really possible due to his stoic nature, only his eye glasses slides down his nose, close to falling.

Sayuri licks her finger tips, not letting whatever excess chocolate remain. She has cookie crumbs on her cheeks, near the corner of her mouth and on his couch. Sayuri realizes that the blonde is staring, prompting her to respond. "What?"

"…" Naruto opens his mouth to speak, but he is not able to say anything. Closing it shut again, he weakly points to the now empty cookie jar that Sayuri is holding.

"Oh. Oooooh." The girl stares into the empty jar before looking back up at him. "Sorry."

Naruto shakes his head, his flat look taking form. "No. I can't blame you. Cookies are too good to resist… I know it." He pushes his glasses back to place with his middle finger's knuckle. "Anyway, now that you're full, care to train with me for a bit upstairs on the sky terrace?"

Since the pool is empty, he's using it as a place where he could train his ninjutsu. But since ninjutsu is not his main forte, he's also manipulating it as his sparring arena with his bunshin. Now that he knows how to use the Kage Bunshin, he will try sparring with a real solid clone but since Sayuri is here, why not let her spar with him instead?

And no, he is not inviting her for a spar just because he's sour.

* * *

 **Four days later…**

He stands on one side of the empty and wide swimming pool, dressed in his shorts and sleeveless undershirt, stretching his arms and legs while Sayuri is doing the same thing. She has a chokuto strapped to the cloth that she has tied around waist, using it to keep the sheath in place. She has her hair tied to a ponytail, obviously because they're about to spar. Naruto ditched his glasses, seeing as he may just damage it in the spar.

"Say, we haven't been doing this because I ate all of your cookies four days ago, right?" Asks a stretching Sayuri.

"No." Naruto replies smoothly, as if he's anticipating her question. "This is nothing personal, it's for practice."

The last Uchiha shrugs before quickly finishing her stretches.

Ever since the past few days of staying in Naruto's apartment, her life changes gradually in ways that may or may not get the public's opinion about them even more misunderstood. Since they're living in the same apartment, she spends more time with him together, even more than when she's still living in her old clan house. Them walking home together is normal, but to enter the same home together… now that's a thing to gossip around for the academy to brew. Rumors of them 'enveloping in their already romantic relationship' have been spreading like wildfire all around the academy, even the instructors are discussing about it, though they're not doing anything about it since it's really none of their business.

So, now, they're used to be talked about behind their backs by people. Sayuri learned that the spread was done by the nosy Yamanaka who really can't keep her mouth shut – that girl sometimes irks her more than a bed head on Monday mornings – and she spreads it to the rest of her circle to keep the fire burning and spreading. Honestly, this is all stupid, and if anyone thinks that she's offended, then they're dead wrong. She just doesn't care, and she knows that Naruto feels the same way. Still, she can appreciate it if people will not look at them as if they're a pair of diamond rings in the middle of the road. But, as usual, she isn't that good at hiding things, especially things concerning her from the blonde, so it's only natural for him to know that she's putting some thoughts into it. She's willing to bet her sword that the reason why he's doing this sparring with her is because he wants her to take her mind off from the rumors.

Sweet.

"You ready?" Naruto asks, brandishing a kunai.

"Hn." Sayuri replies, unsheathing her blade.

They both become blurs, known only to the wind. This is a spar between aces, the best in their class, the top rankers, the absolute pair. They are evenly matched, speed, agility, reflex and strength; though there are certain fields where they are most proficient. Their style is unique even to each other. Naruto is like a wolf; low, aggressive, but patient. He strikes first and counters first, defending himself only when he knows that he can't take the hit. His movement is swift, being able to whiz through Sayuri's attack pattern as if he's memorized them all, which is partially true. Sayuri, on the other hand, is like an eagle; she's opportunist and will strike when there's a chance. Every move she executes can be critical for her opponent if they're not quick enough to dodge her attacks. Her skill with a blade is not the best, but it is still good.

The pair is immersed in their own tango of attacks, blades clashing against each other and bodies twisting, spinning and moving. Their eyes never leaves each other's face when they're about to make their attacks, knowing that it will only give them the disadvantage of being caught by surprise. Naruto gracefully leaps back, finding his footing once he lands. He whips out the kunai from his grip, launching it to the girl. But Sayuri is not sloppy either. She anticipates the kunai, letting it soar to her, only for it to be deflected by the flat side of her blade. Her eyes are narrowed, fixed on to her target. She takes a stance, raising her chokuto above her head in a stabbing manner with both hands.

Naruto remains passive, not showing a single bit of emotion in his features. He has everything under control, from his breathing to his muscle and to the way he's using his chakra to keep up with Sayuri's ruthless slices. He summons another kunai, gripping it a in a reverse grip. He takes a stance, extending his gripped kunai in front of him, while his left arm is ready to intercept any attacks that the girl might deliver. His feet are spread apart, back hunched forward, shoulders slightly raised. His eyes are fixed at one spot only. And that's the tip of Sayuri's chokuto. He watches as the tip glints underneath the evening sun, as if teasing him to make the first move for the attack. But Naruto knows better than that.

Their silent stand-off is making the air around them thick, suspense and intensity lingering freely. Naruto's lips subtly thinned out, his normally bright blue eyes dulling in color.

!

He uses his free hand to grip Sayuri's fists, preventing her from lowering her sword, his kunai is already pointed at her neck, nipping it slightly causing a brief trickling sensation to prick her neck.

The pool's size is nearly two meters in length. So it's impossible for someone to close a distance like that in the blink of an eye.

…

…

"I win." Naruto declares what has been decided.

Sayuri is still wide eyed.

How? When?

Naruto pulls the kunai away from her neck, letting her hands go so that she could lower her sword. He takes a few steps back. "…I was not expecting you to be this surprised."

"You didn't?" her voice betrays her expression, for it being too small. "I… I didn't even know what happened back there. It's as if you disappeared and suddenly reappeared in front of me with a kunai pointed at my neck. For a moment, I thought I fainted."

Naruto re-holster his kunai back into its place.

"What happened, Naru?" Sayuri asks, completely clueless.

"Nothing." The blonde shrugs. "But it's interesting what a basic academy jutsu can do."

Sayuri's silence demands him to elaborate more.

"Remember when I throw that kunai at you?"

He sees her nod.

"There was another aim for that."

He picks up the fallen kunai that he is referring to. "See how it's chipped here, right at the edge?" he points at the spot.

Sayuri sees it. It's probably due to the contact it made with her blade.

"Standard issued kunais are made out of steel primarily, combined with several more chakra sensitive minerals that are surprisingly brittle. This reduces quality and increases cost at the same time, so the combining of steel with chakra sensitive minerals is no longer done by the department of arms and weapons. To remedy this, they decided to use a special kind of allow instead, that alloy is then cut into ingots to be hand forged to the kunai we know and use today. There's a reason why I throw that kunai at you, and it's not to hit you. it's to let something on you."

This got her even more confused.

Naruto walks over, reaching for her shoulder. "This is the one of the fragments from the kunai that got chipped off when it made contact with your sword." He shows her the miniscule fragment. "Something like this may not do much, nor might it look important at all when in a battle. But for me… this is already an advantage for me to win against you."

Sayuri looks at the kunai, then back at the fragment.

"The other fragment landed, if my calculations are correct, somewhere on your cheek. The sweat that has been accumulating provides enough stickiness for it to stick there without you noticing. I used Kawarimi to substitute myself with that piece, thus resulting you your defeat."

He twirls the chipped off kunai with his finger, giving her a head tilt.

"Any questions?"

Sayuri opens her mouth, but closes it back again.

"Good. I'm starving. Let's go to Ichiraku's."

…if eating Naruto's cookies is what it takes to get him to fight her like that, then she'll eat his ramen and see what'll happen.

On second thought… it might not be a good idea, he'll seriously get upset. But an upset Naruto is cute too.


	3. Chapter 3

"So, how is he?"

Danzo does not directly answer his old and former teammate, his wrinkly, past useful eyes seems to have wandered somewhere faraway.

Hiruzen is waiting patiently, his face calm and flat. Danzo may be a crafty old hawk, but the man's position as his spymaster and left hand is not for show. Danzo has gone past his prime; he has definitely seen better days. Now half blind and semi-crippled, the man won't do much in a battle, which is why he finds his place here in the village acting as one of his three advisors and an important member of his council of Shinobi. There is a sense of rivalry going on between the two of them, but both knows that it makes their current relationship status healthy in a sense that it keeps the both of them aware and not careless when it comes to making decisions. Hiruzen knows of Danzo's little group of misfits, and Danzo knows of Hiruzen's plan for Konoha.

"He's barely sharp."

The Hokage does not show his surprise.

"He is good, another Itachi in the making, but not as good as Kakashi when he was his age." The bandaged covered elder comments. "But if you were to sharpen him, hone him into the perfect shinobi… you will have a blade too sharp for you to worry." The man does not end his speech just yet. "But I do not. Give him to me, Hiruzen. I will make him better than Itachi, Kakashi and Minato combined."

Hiruzen lets his former teammate's words sink into his head for a little bit, causing for a rather lengthy pause and silence to weave through the air. "I cannot do that, Danzo. You know why. I want him to harness his power by himself, the only help and teachings he will get will be given from a jonin sensei that he will receive when he makes genin."

"It never hurts to start early." Danzo argues quietly. "For all we know, the boy has begun earlier than we expect. Who knows what level he's at now? Give him to me. This will only benefit Konoha, nothing more."

"That's exactly the problem, Danzo." The Hokage mutters, his half lidded eyes blinking slowly. "The benefit of the village is of the highest priority, yes. But it won't do good if it results in the loss of the ninja himself." His eyes dart to his teammate's crooked form. "Let him grow first, Danzo and then we will see if he is ready to take his duties seriously as a ninja."

"So it's a matter of loyalty to his village?"

Hiruzen closes his eyes. "It has always been a matter of loyalty."

Danzo does not speak against that.

"In any case, Hiruzen, give him to me and you will not regret it. I will make him into something, something that will shook the leaves off the their host trees." He walks towards the door, opening it slightly. "You and I both know all too well that excellent ninjas are made, not grown."

The door closes with Danzo leaving the room.

Hiruzen sighs as he opens his eyes. "I know that all too well old friend… all too well…"

When talking about ninjas… there is no changing the system. The system is there, it's absolute and there is no touching much less changing it. Some might even take it to the point of believing that there is no system in the first place, but trust him, there is. He, just like any other clueless shinobis out there, has helped shape the system. He has made it come to life. There are still daggers and cloaks that need to be hidden underneath every desk, and gold to hide in between every ledger, but there is no hiding the system. You can only see it or ignore it. And to some, it's easier to do the former than the latter.

Theirs is a fucked up system. And there is no changing it.

"Sometimes… I regret taking this job."

And that is true.

* * *

"Class, you are dismissed early for the day." Iruka winces when nearly all of his students cheer at the same time. "But!" everyone pauses. "You will be given assignments for the weekends." Now the roles are reversed, minus the cheering. His students sink back into their seats at the mentioning of 'assignments' as if they're the bane of all academy students or just students in general.

"You will do your assignments which will be taken from your textbook page thirty six numbers eight to-"

The door slides open, harshly. It causes everyone to be on alarm. Iruka, being a trained chunin, already has his kunai drawn in his hands; ready to be thrown at the rude individual who interrupted his session. Iruke lowers the kunai as he sees one of his colleagues' breathless form appearing from the hall outside of his classroom with an urgent look on his face.

"Iruka! It's… Mizuki… he… he turned traitor!"

Iruka reacts immediately. "Class, you are dismissed. Please return to your homes immediately and no wandering around the streets tonight!" he rushes outside with the other chunin in order to get more of the situation.

The students that remain in the room are confused, surprised and puzzled. The majority of them are not sure how to accept the situation, after all, it's not common for an instructor to turn traitor. Murmurs began to break out, flooding the room with whispered and hushed mutterings of students amongst each other. Even the subtle ones, like Shino, are reacting to the news. No one really does anything aside from murmuring and whispering, it is dismissal time after all and there's really no class representative to take charge when the teacher's away. With our two center characters, we see the both of them sending silent looks secretly between each other, nodding.

Silently, they slip out of the room, trying to be as quiet and natural as they can be to avoid looking suspicious. Once outside, they quietly make their way through the halls with their bags in tow hanging on their shoulders like an everyday piece of equipment. Afterwards, they are finally outside of the academy building and show no signs of stopping. They exit the campus grounds, leaving the earliest out of all the students for the day. Once they are a good distance away from the academy, it's Sayuri who breaks the silence.

"…You're not going to do anything about the situation?" her question comes out casual, as if she's starting a normal conversation.

Naruto does not answer her immediately as he leaves her hanging for several seconds. "No, why should I?" he returns her question with a question of his own. "I have no rights to meddle in the business of our seniors, besides; I'm not even a genin yet."

Sayuri is not surprised by his answer; after all, this is her childhood friend. His answer is always logical and sensible. There's really no need for an academy student to involve himself in this type of situation; he will only hinder the older ninjas and the people responsible for handling the situation. His composure is so perfect that it's hard to shake him even with news like these. Deep down, Sayuri knows that it's not a matter of ignorance or uncaring nature; it's just the way he is. This earns Naruto with both good and bad reputation. People admires him for his composure, his ability to rationally think things through, but the dislike of his seemingly cold hearted nature puts him on the unapproachable side of the plot. Even so, she does not care. Sayuri does not care about that.

"But…"

He casts his gaze to the sky above, staring at the orange evening sky with stoic eyes.

"It would be good if the situation is handled as fast as possible."

He's not speaking, he is in fact whispering. For Sayuri, it makes it all the more sincere. Naruto is a loyal friend and can no doubt be a loyal ninja to his village. The problem is his incapability to show it. Now that gets her thinking…

"Naru, are you a kuudere or a tsundere?"

"Excuse me, **what**?"

* * *

As expected, word has gotten out regarding the Mizuki incident. Not that much effort was put in order to make it a complete secret, but certain rumor or outcome have been circulating around the ninja community regarding the incident. To those with the rank lower than chunin, meaning either a genin or even a student at the academy, it's not really that big of a deal. Certain delegations have been placed in ranks to give shinobis and kunoichis alike the chance to act independent and proactively. Genin are still under the supervision of their jonin instructors, and they are the lowest in the rank; this makes them illegible to do or act in this type of situation. But since chunin are no longer supervised, meaning that they are completely independent on their own and are allowed to take actions, within permission and reasons.

If you are higher than a chunin, it is your duty to respond to situations like this. When word got out about Mizuki's betrayal, it was the ANBU and most jonin who responded first. Not all jonin in Konoha are given the responsibility of watching over a squad of genin, and this brings up more reason why Mizuki was easily detained. And of course, there is also the Black Ops division, the ANBU, to thank since they are trained to specifically deal with the more 'extreme' jobs that a ninja could ever get. The ranking system is not perfect, though. Here are some few instances.

By shinobi law, in other words, the Hokage's words, just because someone is of a higher rank than another, does not mean that they have the rights to execute or give out orders freely. Objective, reasons and cause for executing the order must be presented when asked or questioned. For example, a jonin ninja cannot give out orders to a chunin or genin without having a proper reason or cause. But this is not the case. Most shinobi are getting too arrogant of their position, with a higher rank they thought that they have the power or authority to rule over those who are of a lower rank. This is extremely unprofessional and can be subjected to court martial or even harsher punishment executed by the Hokage himself. Konoha is not proud to admit it, but arrogant fools do exist within the ranks. Most are reported, but some remains, using threats and other form of blackmail to keep themselves safe from being found out.

In conclusion, the only one figure who has rights to order every ninja around is the Hokage. He is the commander in chief. He is the ruler. His words are law and disobedience may be punishable extremely. There is trial for ninjas, but for people like Mizuki, it's a different kind of trial. Way different.

Hiruzen frowns as he reads the document given to him by one of his ANBU captains. The ANBU is the village's Black Ops division, it is supervised and controlled by captains. Their rank are not the highest, per say, since it is considered to be in the sub category of a specialized ranking system, but for the sake of easier chain of command in the corps, it is safe to say that they are several steps below the position of a Kage. But the main concern right now is not that, it's something of greater concern.

"Orochimaru… looks like my former student has finally made his move…" Hiruzen whispers out as he reads the document report intently. Maybe that is wrong. Orochimaru has been moving all this time without him knowing, chances are, his former students have already had spies planted within the village's ranks.

"ANBU." A figure emerges from the darkest corner of the room, showing a masked and uniform person. This is an ANBU. An ANBU is no longer human. He is the village's greatest asset. An ANBU is all; a sword, a shield, a dagger and an arrow. A weapon of the village built to destroy the village's enemies. This ANBU kneels down in front of the Hokage, his leader, posture low and not daring to lift his head.

"Bring me Shikaku."

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

An ANBU's training is the harshest and hardest, this resulted in the most skilled and experienced soldier that the village could ever produce. The ANBU's presence is no longer within the Hokage's office, seemingly to have flickered away like a match blown by the wind. Hiruzen waits patiently and no more than five minutes later, knocking comes from the other side of his office door.

"Enter."

"You want to see me, Lord Hokage?" an almost lazy and unwilling voice responds as soon as he enters the office with a bad posture. If he isn't who he is, Hiruzen would have done something already and whatever it is, it won't be pretty. A grown man, old enough to be called a father, enters the office. His skin complexion is fair, but his age shows by the small wrinkles that adorns his face. He has a long black hair that is kept to a spiky ponytail, a common hairstyle that his clansmen are famous for. He is dressed in a grey fishnet shirt with a special jonin flak jacket over it, as well as a ragged and torn leather coat with holes and its edges ripped off giving him a rather hard boiled look. He's an old man, defined by the small stub he has on his chin as well as the scars on his face. His narrow eyes seem to hold the capability to know your thoughts even if he is not a Yamanaka.

"Yes I have, and it's regarding our recent trouble." If there's one word that could be used to easily describe Shikaku, it's 'genius'. And that is an understatement.

"Anko and Ibiki must be having fun last night…" the Nara remarks casually and sarcastically at the same time.

"They should be." The Nara raises his eyes slightly at how curt and direct Hiruzen is. "Mizuki is directly linked with Orochimaru, the reports that have been submitted to me said so." Hiruzen points to the scroll he has been reading over the past few minutes. "You know what this means, right?"

There's no need for him nod, but Shikaku does so regardless. "I damn well do. We all know that it's bad news if your former student's involved with anything that's related to Konoha." The Hokage relaxes. This is why Shikaku is one of his best shinobis. "I'm assuming that you're planning to bring in several people for questioning?"

And he'll say it again; one of his best shinobis. "I do." Hiruzen nods. "But I'm afraid that this will cause insecurity and suspicion among the ranks, which is why I'm going ordering you to deal with it specifically." The Hokage's gaze is anything but playful. "Don't hesitate to bring in people that you deem suspicious, just make sure that you do it quietly."

The normally sleepy Nara smirks, straightening his back and redefining his posture. He rubs the back of his head, before blinking several times to get the sleepiness off from his eyes. "It's damn troublesome now that I actually have something to do, but it's worth seeing you back on track, boss."

Hiruzen closes his eyes. "I have always been on track, Shikaku." Then they open once more, showing a Kage's determination. "I have not been moving the cart that's all." He says. "Do it as fast as you could. If they question you, tell them that it's for the village. We can't afford to have our loyalty crumbled by an old mistake… my mistake."

"On it, boss." Shikaku salutes his superior, a rare gesture, before leaving the room.

Hiruzen slowly rises from his chair, taking a few steps to look out the window that overlooks his village.

Konoha, by itself, is a weak village. It is not as military-heavy as Iwa or Kumo. Hiruzen dares to say that if Konoha and Iwa or Kumo are to go to war against each other, Konoha will have a hard time dealing with Iwa's or Kumo's onslaught. But Konoha is not one of the strongest ninja villages for nothing. His village produces sharp and excellent shinobis… some of which were too sharp that they actually became trouble for him.

Orochimaru is one of them.

Orochimaru… is his mistake. There are so many if's that he could state regarding his failure as the teacher of Orochimaru, but now is not the time to wallow over the past. His ghost may still be roaming, slithering freely out there; but he won't let that ghost consume him. He is the Hokage of the village, he is the foundation of the great tree that is Konoha; its very being. Orochimaru may have gathered strong allies or puppets for him to use, but he will not fall, Konoha will not fall.

It's time for a change. And it's happening now.

Starting with Danzo.

* * *

She wakes up with a long and rather sleepy yawn. Her body is aching, the sensation of multiple sores torturing the different parts of her body. Sayuri likes to train, and she does so within her own pace. But when it comes to training with Uzumaki Naruto, she has to throw her pace away to go with his. And let her tell you, the boy's pace is ridiculous. She can't blame him, really. After all, it's her who wanted to train with him in the first place. She shudders slightly, remembering the harsh regime that she went through a day ago after they returned from the academy.

But it seems that she's not the only one who's tired from yesterday's training. Naruto is still asleep, dressed in a simple plain white t-shirt that has somehow become his staple.

She pokes her childhood friend's whiskered cheeks.

"…"

She does so once more.

"…"

' _This… this is… this is…'_ Sayuri does not know the rising feeling she's feeling in her chest, but for whatever reason, she cannot **stop** her fingers from poking Naruto's cheeks.

"Ugh…um…" slowly, a pair of oceanic blue eyes opens to reveal themselves to the world. But, the first thing they see is the blood trickling down Sayuri's nostrils. Naruto frowns, his way of showing concern among other things… "Sayuri, was yesterday's training to intense and harsh for you?"

"What?" she asks softly, with her finger still poking her childhood friend on his cheek. Swirls began to replace her pupils, and her face is becoming so red that Naruto can no longer see the blood trickling down her nose. "No, no, I'm fine…" she is not speaking normally, there's always this breathy after-effect after every speech.

Naruto raises his form to a sitting one. He just remembers that they shared the same bed last night, explaining Sayuri's presence in his room. He remembers her rejecting his offer of sleeping in the other room or the other apartment rooms outside of his own, since she insisted that she wanted to sleep in the same room as he does. He finds nothing wrong with that, so it's natural for him to let her sleep on the same bed with him.

Sayuri's still poking him, by the way.

"Really? But you're so red that you're bleeding from your nose. And please stop poking me."

This time, her finger is only centimeters away from his cheek, and her face freezes to a red halt. She is the very definition of a traffic light, a mix of embarrassment and something unknown. Sayuri retracts her hand slowly away from the boy, lowering it down to her person. She opens her mouth, but no words come out.

"Excuse me." she walks away from the room, into the bathroom.

From his room, Naruto can hear the sound of the sink being opened as well as several splashing noises. Naruto shrugs it off. Women, after all, are very much different from men. He stands to prepare a change of clothing for himself.

"Sorry for bleeding on the bed sheets Naru-ru-ru-ru-ru…" Sayuri becomes a broken record.

"Hm?" Naruto, who is halfway on taking off the t-shirt he used for sleepwear, lowers it again, but not all the way, to look at the girl. "Did you say something, Sayuri?"

On a completely different note, somewhere in Konoha, a certain scarecrow sneezed.

Back to the related note; Sayuri's bangs shadowed her eyes, her unmoving her make her look more like a brooding statue in a park. The lack of response prompts Naruto to speak once again. "Is there something wrong?"

Sayuri's entire body shivers up like a naked person outside in the middle of winter, before collapsing to her knees. Naruto watches the weird reaction with the same frown on his face that he made moments ago. "Are you… okay?" this is the first time Sayuri hears Naruto speaking with such a concerned tone.

"I-I'm fine!" she waves one hand in the air, while the other one is busy gripping her nostrils shut. "I-I-I-I'm not thinking of anything weird or anything!" she seems to be stuttering and stumbling a lot in her words, weird. Naruto merely maintains his concerned frown, but it fades away back into its usual thin stoic state.

"Oh, okay. Do you mind waiting for me before we have breakfast? I'll just get changed real quick." He begins to take off his shirt.

"I'llbeoutside!" Sayuri squeaks before bolting out the room, shutting the door quickly behind her.

Naruto, being the clueless male he is, can only quirk his head, confused.

Once outside, Sayuri refreshes – both mind and body – with a cold cup of water that she gets from the sink. "Urrg… this is not good, this is not good." Not good for her, ultimately.

She slumps over the sink, her head lowered to the point that her forehead might touch the wet basin of the sink. "He's just so… so… so darn cute!" she all but shouts, since she can't really shout about it out loud. Yes, she is Naruto's childhood friend. Yes, they spend a lot of time. Yes, they are basically inseparable. But those don't mean anything if it's always like this. Her… attraction to Naruto is obvious, yes and she knows that he knows about it too, but being the lovable and clueless genius he is, he lacks reaction. This is very, very frustrating. Both for her and some other people out there who cares about her dilemma.

Allegedly, she's the only who cares. But _who_ cares?

Perhaps it's time. Time has been the only factor that causes all of these… different reactions from her. Yes, she blames time! Why must boys be so goddamn attractive as they grow older? It's just unfair! Especially when it's someone like Naruto. Speaking of which, Naruto is a boy himself, so why is he not showing the same reaction as hers whenever they would meet?

"Ah, it's me who mostly see him in those kinds of situation."

Realization hits her like a brick.

So does that mean she's a pervert?

"…I'm… I'm… a pervert?" Sayuri asks mutedly to herself, silence overcoming her surroundings.

"Who's a pervert?"

"KYAAAAAAH!"

Naruto quirks his eyebrows, looking at Sayuri. "You're not acting like yourself today, Sayuri. Is something bothering you? I'm really concerned."

On one side, she's extremely happy to hear that he admits his concern for her. On the other side, she's extremely frustrated that he's always there to see her in the weirdest situation she can get herself into. Sayuri still strives for a reply. "N-No! Nothing is bothering me, I was just surprised! Y-Yeah!" she reaches to refill her cup with water again.

"Hm." Naruto maintains a stoic stare at his childhood. "If that is so… then, I shall prepare breakfast. Is there anything you prefer; modern or traditional?"

Sayuri takes her time to finish her glass. "T-Traditional breakfast, please."

"Okay, please wait for me."

Sayuri, feeling a little bit dejected for some reason, places the glass into the sink before retreating to the dining table just outside of the kitchen area. She sits down, still dejected, on one of the chairs, her form slumping on the table. She sighs for the most time that morning, unable to shake off the feeling completely from her being. Just what is this feeling anyway? Damn you Itachi, why do you have to kill mom and dad before she could even get the chance to have 'the talk'? As a matter of fact, why did you kill them in the first place ANYWAY?

Her homicidal traitorous criminal of a brother aside, screw him wherever he is right now, it's time to be a little honest with herself. She decides. From today, she will try to be a little bit more honest with herself and try to be on the offensive. This may seem like an approach of an irredeemable fan-girl who wants to be a ninja, but she cannot help it. She's just… burning with this overwhelming feeling!

Is this puberty? If so, why does it sucks?

"That's it." She raises a fist, her gaze fixed to the ceiling. "I'm doing it."

Yes, she will. She will try, or fail trying.

"I WILL DO IT!"

"Sayuri, I'm really concerned about you. Should we not go to the academy and see a doctor instead?"

It's a noisy morning.

* * *

"…Alright class, today's lesson's ended and you are dismissed."

All the students present noticed something about Iruka, something different. Ever since Mizuki's betrayal, something that the students know purely from the rumor that has been circulating around, he seems to be… dare they say, mellower. He's not shouting that frequently anymore, instead of giving straight detention he's giving reprimands, and no more extra chores for those who didn't submit their homework for the day. The class won't admit it loudly, but they all know that something serious must have happened with Mizuki. The class doesn't really know the former teacher that well anyway. One day, he's suddenly introduced as Iruka's assistant teacher and that's all. It may seem harsh, but due to the insignificance of his presence, the lack of it does not really move anything major in the student's heart.

But the same cannot be said for their teacher, it seems. Aside from the ones mentioned, several changes also happened to the scarred teacher, new ones that overthrows his old ones. Iruka is an enthusiastic teacher, but lately, he's been sighing a lot. He doesn't give them homework that often anymore, not that they're complaining. But all in all, the students know that something is wrong and it may or may not have something to do with the Mizuki case.

"Naru, should we stop by Ichiraku's today for dinner?" Sayuri asks her childhood friend who is still putting his books into his pack.

The blonde pushes his glasses away from the edge of his nose. "I'm sorry Sayuri, but Hokage-sama wanted to speak to me."

The last Uchiha quirks her eyebrows. "Again? Isn't this the second time this week? The last time you visited him, he gave you gifts, right?"

Naruto nods. "Yes, that is true. So, I'm afraid that we won't be able to go home together as I need to go directly as soon as I'm done here. You can go and have dinner without me."

Sayuri immediately decides to go against it. "No, if you're not there, then there's no point of me going to Ichiraku alone. I'll go home directly and prepare dinner, try not to get home late, okay?"

"Okay and… I'll make it up for you." He feels guilty because it's usually him who offers her to go to Ichiraku together, not being able to keep that flow from going makes him feel guilty. It's as if he has just broken a very important promise.

Instead of pouting or scowling like she's famous for, Sayuri giggles instead, poking one of the blonde's cheeks. "Ba~ka. You don't have to make it up to me, just don't stay out so late."

"…I'll try."

So they depart for different destination, Sayuri is heading straight to the penthouse while Naruto's heading to the Hokage tower. He, himself, is wondering what the Hokage might want for him. It's not that weird for the Hokage to call him to the office for some talk, but to be called twice in a row… he's not in some sort of trouble now is he? Maybe the Hokage knows that he didn't really keep the scroll a secret matter? If that's the reason, then he's completely at fault. It does not take long for him to reach the Hokage tower, since it is near the academy building. When he's inside, he notices that the usual secretary is not present, maybe she's taking her break for the evening or the Hokage could have dismissed her earlier.

Reaching the office's door, Naruto feels a little nervous. He readjusts his eyeglasses, before laying three gentle knocks on the hard wooden surface of the door.

A voice that allows his entry bleeds through the door.

And Naruto enters.

"Naruto-kun, welcome. Please, take a seat."

Naruto has no reason to object, especially if he's in here because of trouble.

Naruto takes his seat normally, his posture unchanging and showing no signs of nervousness. The Hokage watches in silent as the boy adjusts his form to the seat opposite of him. Naruto stares at the older man with expectation in his eyes, but something that Hiruzen can't fully understand.

"Now, Naruto-kun, do you know why you're here?"

"No, I do not know Hokage-sama." A straight answer, as it is best to be straightforward.

Hiruzen takes a puff of his pipe, feeling tobacco and other medicinal herbs entering his system before setting it aside again. "Well, first, it's to ask you a question." Naruto tilts his head. "How have those jutsu been going? Are you practicing them?"

Naruto feels a little bit relieved, but of course, he does not show it. "I have. The jutsu you have given me will no doubt be useful for my future career as a ninja."

Hiruzen nods, feeling extremely pleased from the boy's answer. "I see… is there any one you particularly fancy?"

"The Kage Bunshin." Hiruzen's eyes widen by a millimeter.

"Is that so? May I know why?"

"The concept of a normal Bunshin alone is useful for someone who fights in close quarters like I do." Naruto begins explaining his reasons. "When engaging in a fight, I can overwhelm my opponents with my clones and this gives me the upper hand in battle. Clones can act as useful scouts too, as I can always instruct them to come back to me in order to fill me in with the details that they learned."

Hiruzen is smiling. 'But he hasn't figured it out fully yet, that's somehow relieving to know.' Hiruzen nods, pleased at his explanation. "But what about the others? Have you tried the others?"

"I have." Naruto answers. "But since I am not really experienced in nature manipulation, it's hard for me to determine which elements I'm more suitable in using. When using the Suiton jutsu, it feels smoother, as if things were made for me." a light frown mars his lips. "But once I change into using a Katon technique, that sense of fluidity disappears, replaced with something tougher to manipulate. Lighting is harder to manipulate than water, but it's easier than manipulating fire. I suspect that this means that I have a very poor affinity with fire but good with water and adequate with lightning. I do not know about Futon or Doton elements as I have yet to practice them."

If it isn't for the stoic manner of speech, Hiruzen would have smiled more. "That is very good analysis, Naruto-kun." Hiruzen praises. "Continue to practice them, I am sure that you will be an excellent ninja in no time. After all, graduation is near."

Naruto nods. This year's batch of students is going to have their graduation exams soon. The exam in a ninja academy is way different than that of a normal school's. It consists of both written and practical test that needs more than eighty percent in order to pass. Rumors from his older and ex-academy students told him that every year the exams will be getting harder and harder. This was intended with the purpose of increasing ninja qualities with each passing year. Understandable.

"Now… for the next reason as to why I called you here…"

Now, Naruto tenses up.

"Do you know what happened about your co-instructor Mizuki?"

Naruto relaxes visibly. "Yes, but only rumors that have been circulating in the campus. We all know that he turned traitor, but that's just about it. Others simply exaggerated with fabricated facts and gossips that have yet to be proven."

The Hokage nods. "I may sound like I'm putting you in an inquisition Naruto-kun, but I am not." Hiruzen says. "But can you tell me, what do you think happened to Mizuki?"

"…I do not understand, isn't he punished?" Naruto asks for clarification.

"True, he is punished, and he served it already." The Hokage says a little bit coldly. "But I want to know what you think happened to Mizuki after he was caught."

Naruto closes his eyes, thinking. He then opens them again. "Obviously, he is brought in into questioning. Presumably the T&I Division as the people deal with torture and interrogation as well as intelligence gathering." He starts his deduction. "I do not know what is it that Mizuki-sen… Mizuki had done to be labeled as a traitor, but I am assuming that he tried to steal or sensitive information and selling it or surrendering it to another party. If he committed something such as the murder of a fellow shinobi, then he will be labeled a murderer, not a traitor. In the T&I… I'm sure that he was interrogated brutally in order to get the information out of him. Since you said that he has served his punishment, it seems that the interrogation was a success and Mizuki gave up a lot of information if not several sensitive ones regarding who he's turning the information to. And now, Mizuki is probably locked up in the most secured and highly patrolled shinobi and criminal prison… again, I assume that the location of this prison is not somewhere that a mere academy student like me would know of, so I'm assuming that he's locked up somewhere in a Konoha controlled maximum security prison outside of Konoha."

Hiruzen stays silent. The room itself is already silent after Naruto's lengthy conclusion. Then, Hiruzen claps. "Well done Naruto. You are correct." The Hokage congratulates the boy. "Mizuki was indeed labeled a traitor due to an attempt of stealing a very important piece of document that could prove to be vital should it be handed to the wrong hands. And yes, his interrogation was a success and the lead interrogator was able to cough out important and crucial information from Mizuki. The last part, I won't say anything more due to how vital information is, but you are correct about Mizuki being locked up somewhere in a maximum security prison that is not somewhere within the village." The smile is obvious on the old man's face. "Congratulations, Naruto, you have surprised me, and no ordinary academy student could do that."

Aside from Itachi, Minato, Kakashi and Orochimaru when they were still in the academy.

Naruto feels completely confused. "What's the whole point of this, Jii-chan? Is there really any point of me answering your question?"

Hiruzen nods without hesitation. "There is. It's something very, very important." Hiruzen's aged tone says gently in an informative tone. "As a ninja, we are often compared to our Samurai brethren. Where they are warriors, proud and chivalrous… we are often seen as assassins, manipulative and cruel. These are merely opinions, subjective opinions that is the result of human thoughts. But… they are not wrong." Hiruzen's tone grows solemn, like the sun about to set. "I often give the people, the people of the village, the image of this beacon of light that guides them and lights their path; I give the sense of safety and peace for their wellbeing and comfort… I was seen as the light to their dark."

Hiruzen's aged features have never looked so obvious and defined.

"But I am far from becoming a shining light. Just like every other ninjas out there, I am of the shadow. I walked within it, fought in it, raised in it and shaped by it. The next thing I knew, I have become a shadow myself." the old Sarutobi puffs a smoke from his pipe. "We ninjas are not heroes, Naruto. The title heroes deserve to those who can solve problem without causing another one. But as a ninja, that is impossible. Ninjas are said to have no honor, only greed for money and gold. Again, these are only the subjective opinions of people. But that is partially true. We kill, lie and cheat to gain money; it is our tools of the trade, our bargain. It's not a good life."

The aged Kage takes a very long sip of his pipe before exhaling it.

"However, however… a ninja is not without heart." He gives Naruto a weary, tired, old smile. "A ninja's heart may be full of holes, but he tries his best to endure through it all. No matter what the world thinks of him, no matter of how purposeless his life may be, a ninja endures. A true ninja does not care about reputation, after all, a ninja with a great reputation is easily targeted. The same goes for loyalty, a ninja has loyalty. Whether it's to himself, to his village or to the people he cares about… that loyalty must never be broken. When you wear your forehead protector, you are secretly taking an oath. It's an oath that you swear for life to yourself, your village and your precious people."

Hiruzen rises from his chair, walking towards the window that overlooks outside.

"When you wear your symbol, one that is a proof of loyalty to your village, will you be able to keep it, Naruto-kun? Or will that loyalty be broken easily?"

As expected, Naruto does not answer immediately. He can't answer immediately. His mind is running miles. His composure becoming unnaturally quiet even for someone like him.

"My loyalty… is unquestioned."

Hiruzen listens.

"When I become a ninja… I know of the responsibility that I will shoulder. But I will be shouldering it with thousands of other brothers and sisters with the same duty and obligation as I do. I am confident that I won't be a mere shadow that's famous for causing chaos and fear in people's eyes, but I will try to be that small flicker of flame that warms those who are cold. I pledge to you, I pledge to myself; for my village and for the people that I cherish."

Hiruzen smiles, his reflection showing it.

"Then you will be an excellent ninja. I'm proud of you, Naruto-kun."

A lone leaf, drifting in the evening air, is accompanied by several other fallen leaves, carried by the wind.

' _You should be too, Minato… Kushina.'_


	4. Chapter 4

**Uh... there's no lemon here, but there's a lime scene at the end, so... hope ya'll don't mind.**

* * *

"Lord Hokage, what remained of ROOT has been accounted for."

The ANBU are the rarely seen bunch of ninjas in Konoha for obvious reasons. Their common identifying features would be the porcelain mask they are wearing, standard black and grey uniform as well as the tattoo on their left arm. But the most important feature is the mask, as they show the ANBU's identification. Depending on what animal the mask is painted, it will also be an ANBU's codename. So should one encounter an ANBU wearing a porcelain mask with the design of a dog's face, then there is a high chance of the ANBU's codename being Dog. However, Danzo's little band of misfits are different from their legitimate brethren. They are without identity, leaving their mask blank white, porcelain with no identifying features. They are normally seen wearing cloaks over their uniform, which is also different from the ANBU.

The one kneeling before the Hokage is not an ANBU, but a ROOT operative. He, he is a male, is raised and trained within ROOT to be one of the most excellent soldiers that they could produce. In ROOT, he holds the rank of captain, which is more or less similar to the captain in the ANBU. Not only their masks and uniforms, but their identification is also different.

"Well done 1." Sarutobi Hiruzen nods, pleased by the report. 1, One, is the captain for all ROOT operatives that Danzo had trained. Last night, a platoon of ANBU from Hiruzen's own choosing, infiltrated and assaulted the base of ROOT which is located deep in an underground facility right underneath the village. All ROOT operatives were given the chance to surrender, but due to their training and loyalty to Danzo, they retaliated with full force. Both sides suffered casualty, but his ANBU were better trained. His ANBU's original plan is to secretly arrest Danzo in the assault, but that mission objective failed when he managed to flee in the midst of fighting with several of his men. The ROOT operatives that were captured, eventually, surrendered.

Hiruzen made them swear loyalty and spit out whatever they could about Danzo's plan, but his former teammate is one smart fellow. Danzo has seals placed on the tongues of his men, preventing them to reveal anything related to him and ROOT in general. This was later solved by some of the best Fuinjutsu specialists that Konoha has to offer. But it was a hard process to remove the seal, as it turned out to be bloodier than expected; even he had to step down and use whatever knowledge he has about Fuinjutsu to help. It's at times like these where he regrets allowing Jiraiya a Sanin's travelling rights. But what is there for him to not regret?

"The remaining members of ROOT have sworn loyalty to you, Lord Hokage. We are your knife and yours to command." 1 says monotonously, another product of his teammate's action.

"No, you won't be my knife. I have the ANBU for that." Hiruzen starts talking, shaking his head. "From now on, ROOT will be a unit of its own that specializes in all the things that an ANBU does but it will be more active in dealing with international conflicts rather than national ones. You won't just be my knife; you will be my cavalry, assassins and informants that only answers to me and no one else."

1 stays silent.

"I will be giving you control over ROOT, responsible for supervision and training of its members. You are free to assign your own delegates in the way you deem fit." Hiruzen's old eyes are as sharp as an eagle's talon. "You do not do things for Danzo anymore, but for me and the village."

"Yes, Lord Hokage." The cloaked ROOT captain vanishes in thin air, leaving nothing behind aside from his residual presence that eventually vanishes too.

After watching the ROOT captain disappear from his sight, Hiruzen silently gestures an ANBU to appear before him, standing next to him. "Sparrow, inform your squad that they will be having a mission tonight." Hiruzen's normally kind and gentle eyes are now the opposite of that. "You will be hunting a snake, so prepare."

"Yes Lord Hokage." Sparrow disappears, much like the ROOT captain who was here before.

Several knockings are landed on his door, just as he expects. "Enter, Shikaku."

And Shikaku enters, a brown paper file on his hand. "We finished it boss, everyone was questioned and you'll be surprised at what we found out."

Hiruzen accepts the document that Shikaku gives him, placing it on his desk. "Please spare me the time to read this document, just tell me the important bits now."

"Long story short, you were right in suspecting Orochimaru of having spies within our ranks." Shikaku's bored expression turns grim. "Short story long, he **did** have spies in our ranks." He let the meaning sink in, and Hiruzen catches it instantly. "They committed suicide right after we finished interrogating them, Ibiki did everything he could but what he managed to cough out from those we brought in wasn't enough to give us any intel on who's working for Orochimaru. I asked Inoichi to probe their brains, but he's not good working with dead bodies. But, what we got is still valuable. Places, people outside of Konoha and certain assets that are related to Orochimaru are all listed in the report, I suggest you only go over them if you're not looking to spend your time reading the entire thing."

"So after all of this, you're telling me that we got nothing aside from Orochimaru's old base, his former contacts and sunken assets that may or may not be useful?"

"That's not all." Shikaku immediately speaks, calming Hiruzen a little bit. "Remember when I said that I asked Inoichi to probe their brains? The thing is, he can't really do that."

Hiruzen ponders. "And how is this a good news?."

"Inoichi said that he could not access their minds, as if they have these 'mental block' that prevents Inoichi from accessing them. Your former student's a smart person, and he took this into account. Smart, but not that smart." Shikaku grins. "I gathered some more people I suspect that might have an involvement with Orochimaru under the guise of 'mental check ups'. It'll be like your normal every day psychological meeting with a psychiatrist, except that we have several Yamanakas hidden on the other room behind a one way mirror that we managed to make look like a normal mirror perform a mental probing jutsu to make sure whether they have a 'mental block' in them or not. If they can't access their mind, then that means our subjects may be involved with Orochimaru and then we're bringing them in for questioning."

Hiruzen nods, listening to Shikaku's plan really reassures him. "Good, continue with it and please, find whatever you can about Orochimaru. It's bad enough that Danzo's out there roaming in the wild… the last thing we need is for the both of them to meet up."

"Ah…" Shikaku's face fell, his confident look fading away.

"…" Hiruzen aims a look at him that says 'explain'.

"You won't like it." The Nara states bitterly. "One of the guy we brought in, we're a hundred percent confident that he's working for Orochimaru, muttered out something about an old hawk before he passed." Every hair on Hiruzen body is slowly standing up. "…I knew what he meant immediately, which brings to why I'm still here instead of walking back home preparing to receive another earful session of nagging from my wife."

Shikaku scratches his head while shaking it simultaneously.

"Danzo's involvement with Orochimaru is more than just ROOT." The Nara states seriously. "It's about something greater. Tell me boss, you ever heard of the Red Dawn?"

"Akatsuki?" Hiruzen mutters out.

"Yes, Akatsuki… Biju hunters from what we managed to cough out from a more 'willing' subject we had." Shikaku mumbles quietly, a little bit too quiet for a Nara. "We do not know anything, but when that one guy who mentioned Danzo before his death spoke, I immediately ask Ibiki to focus the others' interrogation on Danzo. Results are written in there, but I'll spare you. In short, Orochimaru was a member of Akatsuki and somehow, Danzo is related in all of this."

"That's all?"

"Sorry to disappoint you boss, but that's all." Shikaku shrugs. "The others were already biting their tongue before we could even ask them about anything more. This means that whatever connection that Danzo, Orochimaru and Akatsuki has; it may or may not be involved with hunting the Biju." The Nara sighs, shaking his head. "And the last time I check, Konoha has one Jinchuriki…"

Hiruzen stays quiet, pondering a lot of things in his head. Until he speaks again. "This needs to be contained." He says firmly. "The safety of Naruto-kun is very critical… but we cannot do anything that may trip Orochimaru's remaining spies further. If I were to pull Naruto out from the shinobi program…"

"Then they'll get suspicious, especially without knowing whether those spies are really working for Orochimaru or not." At Hiruzen's questioning look, Shikaku elaborates. "We're still not sure of how big this Akatsuki is, boss, but if a person like your former student joined it, I'll say that it's filled with several big-shots that might even be a legend of their own. Who knows what kind of influence they have over simple spies?"

Hearing Shikaku's reasoning immediately makes Hiruzen take that reason into mind. "Still, something needs to be done."

"And I'll leave that to you," SHikaku concludes. "I can't really do much about that."

Hiruzen nods. "Thank you for coming, Shikaku. You are dismissed."

The Nara closes his eyes, yawning before muttering, "Troublesome."

* * *

Chakra exhaustion is not a pleasant. Not so very much. And hearing this coming from a chakra monster such as him actually means something.

Naruto gasps for air, struggling to maintain his breathing as he could feel his lungs burning from over using too many chakra. Chakra is energy, it can't be seen and can't be taken from out of nowhere. It comes from the body, released and will eventually be gathered again into the body, using it as a filter mechanism to get most of the impurities out.

It's still a topic that's up for debate, but the chakra that's inside a person is actually not pure chakra. Just like the same thing with oxygen, having pure concentrated chakra running inside your body is deadly for you, which is why there's such thing as chakra potency in a person. Since chakra is energy, a very easy to manipulated one at that, it can only be transformed. And as a ninja, he is able to transform into the ninjutsu that he has been practicing for the past five hours.

He's perfectly aware that his ninjutsu is not the best, Sayuri's efficiency is still far superior than his in terms of ninjutsu. And that reason is more than enough to make him try to remedy that. He needs to train in order to be more efficient in ninjutsu, not just taijutsu. With a little bit of high ranked jutsu in his arsenal, he's satisfied to know that once he masters at least one of them, his combat efficiency will up drastically. But, as a result of practice, he's currently overheated.

The human body is so much like a machine. If it's continuously pushed from its limits, it will overheat. Way past that, then it will break. The difference is that you can fix machines, but you can't do the same on the human body. Sure, there are surgeries, but not quite close.

He makes his way, hardly, underneath the shade of a tree. He's currently in one of the public training grounds allowed to be used by all ninjas and even academy students. Since it is such a public place, condition is not at the best, but it's more than enough for him to train his jutsu at. He reaches into his pack to grab a water bottle filled with, well, water. He proceeds to chug its content until the very last drop in one sitting, impressive considering that it's nearly two liters worth of water.

Once he emptied the bottle, he slowly leans his back on the tree in a seated position, twisting the cap back close. He's tired, and he's done enough training in one day to make a normal academy student faint. Maybe even some genins.

He reaches for his glasses which he keeps safely inside the front pocket of his pack, placing them over his eyes. He sweeps his hand through his hair, letting droplets of sweat flying around in all direction. His undershirt is completely soaked in sweat and he considers that wearing it any longer will give him a cold so he takes them off. Now shirtless, he proceeds to relax his body by sitting down underneath the shade of a tree.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa… damn son! No one ever told me that Konoha became a central babe point!"

"Ugh… Are you seriously doing it now?"

"Aw… he's not really your type?"

Three women, girls, young ladies, dressed in their own style of clothing are approaching towards his direction. Naruto blinks as he glances to the new visitors to get a better look at them.

The one on the right is the tallest of the bunch, and the most cheerful looking one too. She's several foot taller than him when he's standing, wears a tan leather jacket with a tight long sleeved navy top underneath it, the ones normally worn by ninjas, a skirt that's too short to be called one, but thankfully she's wearing a pair of matching black leggings to match with her equally dark skirt, a pair of green ninja sandals, her utility pouch is visibly strapped on her hip to allow for easy access when reaching for tools, she has a long brown hair that's tied to a long ponytail up-do, meaning that her ponytail is actually pointing upwards instead of going south, and currently, she has a wide grin on her face and her brown eyes are gleaming. Naruto notices the forehead protector on the girl's forehead.

The one in the middle is the shortest, most petite looking girl of the group. She's feet shorter than him, probably only reaching his shoulders at max when standing. She wears a navy blue high-collared trench coat with multiple zippers that acts as access for, presumably, pockets that are stitched into her coat. She wears a very high pair of maroon socks, ending just above her knee level reaching her thighs. Unlike the first girl, she's wearing a pair of black shoes instead of the standard ninja sandals. Her hair is the same color as lavender, light purple. It's short, kept in braids that prevent her bangs from obscuring her view, so her forehead is really showing. She has this neutral look on her face that really shows her capability to keep her composure in check. And currently, she's scratching the smudges off from her forehead protector that she fashions as a collar protector.

The last one is… more or less about his height, not taller or shorter. She has a gentle smile on her face, increasing her feminine features even more. She wears a long sleeved purple sweater, a green olive vest over it. It seems that the sweater is a little bit too tight for her, considering how much it's emphasizing her womanly assets. She wears a pair of short tan hot-pants, and unlike the rest of her companion, she does not wear socks or leggings or anything like that. So she has her creamy white thighs in full view. She too, like the shortest of the group, wears footwear that is not the standard issue ninja sandals. Her hair is a gentle mix between yellow and cream, giving it a rather soft complexion. She does not tie her hair in any fashion, as she simply lets them fall straight free. She wears a white beanie cap over it, a pink pin with a character design that Naruto can't really inspect is printed over it. She too has a forehead protector, but she's tied it over her bicep.

Naruto's first reaction upon seeing that he has three approaching females who happen to be ninjas is… lacking, but he still wonders what they might want in a training ground that's famous for being unmaintained. The first girl is the first one to reach to him, hopping over with her grin so wide that it could probably tear her face apart.

"Hey, what's your name?" She asks, brimming with glee.

Naruto pushes his glasses further into the bridge of his nose. "Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto. Pleased to meet you." he makes a nodding gesture to show that he acknowledges their presence.

"Naruto…? Well, I'm Aya!" the cheerful girl introduces. "Hirano Aya, but you can call me Aya-chan, mister hottie." Her grin shows no sign of fading.

"Hottie…?" he looks around, left and right, before tilting his head with a confused expression his face. "I don't feel or see anything that might give off the feeling of heat, aside from the sun." But it's evening, it's already fairly cold.

Aya giggles, before bursting into a full grown laughter. She slaps her knee several times, before calming back down. "Not only he's a hottie, he's funny too!" she is suddenly in front of him, hands grasping his firmly. "Ne, wanna be my hubby?"

That question emits two different reactions from her friends. The shortest one does a spit take, while the beanie cap wearing one giggles. The one with the lavender hair grimaces, inching away from her loud friend. "Oi, oi… I know that you're a flirt but this is way more advanced than what you usually do." She then pays attention to the blonde. "My name's Yonaka Kato, and don't mind my flirt of a friend over here." Despite her short stature, she's still strong enough to pull Aya away from Naruto.

"Aww…Kato-chi, but he's so cute though!" Aya whines at being separated from the blonde.

"Sure, that's what you said with the other fifty or so guys you've hit on the past few months." Kato rolls her brown eyes, still holding her tall friend by the arm. "Just leave the poor kid be, he's probably here in the middle of his training and you've disturbed him."

The one that has yet to speak suddenly giggles, trotting over with a kind smile on her face. "But you have to agree with Aya-chan, Kato-chan, he is pretty cute." She takes a step forward, standing directly in front of the blonde. She does a polite curtsey, one that her friends have failed to show. "Pleased to meet you, I am Minase Hibiki and these are my friends."

Naruto nods, still unsure of how to respond upon meeting this particular group. He can make a few assumptions. Judging by the fact that they are in a group of three, not wearing any flak jacket that a chunin or jonin would normally wear, he determines that they are genin ranked kunoichi. Still, that does not answer as to why they're here. Since they are genin, they have the permission to use the other better maintained and pristine training grounds, so it's a wonder why they are here.

"Hey, Naruto-kun," Aya's cheerful voice breaks the silence of his mind. "What were you doing here?"

Seeing as that's expected, Naruto has already got an answer. "Training ninjutsu." He answers as briefly as he could.

"Eh… ninjutsu?" she asks in awe. "Man, that's so cool! Our sensei won't let us do any kind of jutsu and all she's making us do is climbing trees and all that! She said that we're not ready to do anything like that yet, bah!"

Kato sighs. "Hey, hey. If Miya-sensei hears you talking like that about her, you'll be tied, gagged and thrown into the male side of the hotsprings, you know?"

Naruto blinks. What kind of sensei would do that?

However, despite how cruel and downright mean Kato's reasoning can be, Hibiki giggles. "That's true, Aya-chan, so don't let her catch you speaking like that."

Pressed on, Aya can only pout at the fact that both of her friends are against her. "Fine! Besides, she's not here anyway, it's not like she can hear us speak while she's on the other side of the village eating those balls of diabetes she calls food!"

Again, Kato sighs, but she won't reprimand her friend again. "Say, Naruto-san, where is your forehead protector?"

Naruto does not look responsive or anything, but he still answers. "I don't have one."

"Eh?" that's Aya. "What do you mean you don't have one?"

"Exactly what I meant." Naruto replies stoically. "I don't have one because I'm not yet a ninja. I will be graduating this year, in several months in fact."

This fact shocks the trio a little bit, but they all adjust to it quickly.

"My, someone as young as you is already training in ninjutsu even though you're still in the academy?" Hibiki asks with little wonder. "Looks like our parents are wrong for saying that our generation is getting lazier."

"Speaking of which," Aya speaks again, her grin returning. "what kind of ninjutsu were you doing?"

And he has failed to keep the matter untouched.

Surprisingly for the three genin, Naruto shakes his head. "Nothing really impressive, just… Bunshin making exercise."

As it turns out, his answer is more of a surprise. "B-Bunshin making exercise…?" Kato mumbles out, uncertain on how to react.

There's chakra control exercise, where you balance a leaf on your forehead using your chakra. They are taught this in the academy. There's also normal weapons training exercise, where you throw or use a particular weapon to increase your adaptability in using it. This is also taught in the academy. But Bunshin making exercise… not only does the name sound weird, but the concept itself is weird too.

"Oh, may I ask why are you doing that?" And Hibiki just has to bring it to the table.

"I theorize that by repeatedly using the Bunshin technique, I can develop it as a second nature to me." The bespectacled boy starts. "I want to make it into a reflex where should a fight start, I would already automatically perform a Bunshin to aid me in combat." He says. He would elaborate that further, but he really sees no reason in doing that. "Is that satisfactory?"

The three girls, a little bit put-off at Naruto's robot like response, can only nod at the same time; Hibiki chuckles awkwardly. This is their first time meeting someone like Naruto, so they do not know how to react. However, unfamiliarity does not get in the way of Aya's natural friendliness and eagerness to make friends.

"Satisfactory? That's boring!" it is as seem that this girl does not have the word 'rude' in her dictionary, or a dictionary at all in the first place. She, without the consent of the blonde, wraps one arm around the boy's neck; her other one position in front of them as if she's making Naruto pay attention to the sky.

"Lookie here buddy. This life… _this_. _life_." She greatly emphasizes the last two words by the use of repetition. "is short." She says in an 'oh so serious' tone that make Kato slap herself right on the face. "So, since it's short, you gotta do all the crazy things that you could think off before it runs out! Capiche?"

Naruto finds it hard to reply. "Ca…piche…?"

" _Da's good."_ Aya grins. She then catches scent of something good smelling, and notices that it happens to be Naruto's hair. Since the smell is so good and irresistible, she begins to sniff him out, pulling him close to her so that she can get a good whiff of his hair. "Hey, you smell nice!"

Naruto is inwardly surprised at the sudden compliment, but does not show it. "Thanks."

Hibiki giggles at seeing the lack of reaction from the boy and her active friend as she's sniffing the shorter blonde. Hibiki has to admit, Aya has good taste in boys. She too then trots over, her hand on her back while having a chipper expression on her face. "Ne, ne, can I smell you too?"

One of his eyes widen slightly at the odd request. "Sure." There's no harm in sniffing, right?

Hibiki leans forward, slowly inhaling through her nose in order to get a whiff of the nice smelling smell that Aya's fixated about. Her eyes widen in mild surprise, somehow not believing that Aya's true. "Wow, you're right Aya-chan, he smells nice." She proceeds to inhale even more.

Kato can only slap herself on the face even harder when she finds out that the voice of reason in the group has joined in on the silly antics. "I'm so embarrassed, I'm so embarrassed… why do I have a secret pervert and a shameless flirt as my friends?" she is repeating this like it is some sort of mantra.

"Here Kato-chii, you try."

"No, wai-"

Kato is not given time to object when Aya's longer and bigger hand grabs her by her hand before forcefully shoving her to the boy. With an 'oomph!' Kato crashes right into the taller boy's abdomen, wincing at how hard it is. Since she is about a head shorter than him, she can still smell the shampoo's scent that is lingering on his hair by placing her chin on his shoulder, she does not intend for this to happen, but once she catches scent of his scent, she cannot remove herself from the boy.

"Hey… this is… not bad." Kato mumbles, finding herself sleepy as she leans herself against the taller boy.

Naruto finds himself restricted physically, with three older girls covering his front and both left and right side; latching to him as they focuses their nose on his hair. He then realizes how abnormal this scenario is to a normal person, but it's not like there's nothing he can do to make them stop. Well, he could just say that they're bothering him, but that would make the message come across as rude. And… his Jii-chan told him, when he was younger, not to be rude to people; especially the ones you have just met. He takes that lesson to heart, thus making his situation even more inevitable.

"What. The. **Hell**?"

His savior comes in the form of another X-chromosomed individual who he happens to know.

* * *

Needless to say, Sayuri is not very happy when she sees her childhood friend being treated like some sort of hug pillow.

Having relocated to a more suitable place for conversation, they are divided into two groups. Aya, Kato and Hibiki are sitting on one side of the sofa while Sayuri and Naruto are sitting right across. The only thing that separates them is the table that is used to eat their food on and since this is a café, they don't really order much. Tension is obvious, but most of the hostility is coming from Sayuri directed to the three girls who seems to be pressured by the younger girl's murderous glare.

"W-Well!" Hibiki is the one to break the ice, but she sinks back down to her seat when Sayuri's cutting edge glare is strictly aimed at her. "…eh… fo-forget it…"

Even the normally cheerful Aya, finds herself nervous in the Uchiha's hostile presence. It's obvious for the three of them that the blonde and the black haired beauty has a thing going on between the both of them, and what they did in the training ground only serves as a proof that might lead them deeper into their graves. However, the brown haired girl stutters as she tries to get a conversation going on.

"E-Eh… hi there… you must be Naruto-kun's friend." She knows that 'friend' would be an understatement, but she's not looking to look like a smartass and rile the girl up even more.

Sayuri bites back a growl, but that still does not stop her from doubling the level of her glare at the three girls, who shrieks at being subjected to it.

Since both of her two friends are out for the count, Kato attempts to converse with the Uchiha. "L-Look here, miss…"

"Uchiha." She hisses. "Uchiha Sayuri."

Kato gulps down air, hard. "Miss Uchiha. Uh… what me and my teammates did was wrong, we, we know." She tries to justify her and the rest of their actions. "How-However, uh… it's… well, um…"

Both Aya and Hibiki begin to sweat, completely nervous since the normally calm and composed Kato is not capable of talking straight and explaining things clearly to their aggressor. Naruto is quietly reading a book that Sayuri has provided him with the moment they entered the café, and he's happily reading through the twentieth page. However, it does not take a bomb going off to make him notice of the obvious tension between the women. He is fully aware of how… protective Sayuri can be about him, but he's sure that Aya, Hibiki and Kato didn't mean any harm.

So he comes to their defense.

"Sayuri, it's fine." He says, closing his book after marking the page for him to read later and setting it aside.

Immediately, the black haired Uchiha's aggressive features soften, before relaxing into that of her normal unreadable expression. "…fine."

All three genin let out a breath of relief when Naruto has managed to, somehow, calm the hostile Uchiha down in only three words. But, they are not able to contain their surprise when Sayuri grabs the blonde by the collar, making their faces just inches away from each other.

"You… you're hurting me, Naru." Sayuri says almost emptily, her voice quiet, only a decibel loud.

Naruto's features do not change. "Am I?"

Sayuri bites her lower lip, before steadily letting her childhood friend go from her firm grip of his collar. Naruto may not notice it, but the three girls present sure do when Sayuri scoots away from the blonde, her head lowered, preventing anyone from seeing her eyes and overall expression.

An awkward silence flies by, and it seems that it's here to say.

Hibiki tries to break the silence one more time. "W-Well, I think that it's best for us to leave…"

"No." this surprises all four girls, but only Sayuri's the one who does not show it. Naruto pushes his glasses deeper into the bridge of his nose, before crossing his arms. "I… wish to ask you three several questions." He pauses. "If you don't mind."

The trio really wants to get out from there due to the awkward atmosphere that they have built up, but somehow, they just can't. So, they sit back down.

Naruto immediately voices his question. "As a genin, what do you usually do as a part of your daily routine?"|

As expected, neither three expect that question from here. This somehow manages to make all three of them relax. Aya, being the most active one out of the three, naturally speaks. "Well…" she scratches her cheek, her voice tamer than usual. "We train regularly, if that's what you're asking?"

"Are there particular types of training that you do?" the glasses wearing blonde asks, blinking several times.

"We do chakra exercises and team building practices most of the time, why are you asking?"

"…No." Naruto shakes his head. "It's just that, I thought that this is a great chance to ask a senior ninja several questions that may be useful for the future." He's talking about his future career as a shinobi.

"I see… well, whaddaya wanna know more about?" Aya asks.

Naruto begins to ask the three girls several questions, ranging from training methods to missions. It's only natural that they answer him, and their answer satisfies the blonde. Though they really do not tell much, Naruto still gets what he needs to know from them and that is enough for him. Until it's time for departures, Naruto never stops pestering the older girls for questions.

"Then… eh… see you again, Naruto-kun." Aya laughs wryly as she and her two teammates exit the café, leaving the bespectacled boy alone on his seat with his childhood friend beside him.

If there's to be one, unfortunate soul left sitting amidst the two childhood friend, then he or she is in for an awkward moment. Even between the two normally well-known quietest pair, the air that's going on between them is a little bit too quiet. Neither Naruto nor Sayuri speaks, the former is staring at nothing in particular while the latter is still sitting with her head lowered down. With the uncomfortable air between them and the café's already quiet atmosphere, it gets even gloomier.

"…"

Naruto does not miss it. "What's that?"

"I hate you."

She ups, walks, and leaves.

Naruto sits there, completely motionless with his eyes staring at air and mind drifting away. He wants to reach for his book, but his hands won't move. He tries to stand up and catch up to Sayuri, but his legs feel numb. He wants to take a look at the spot where she exits, but his head won't budge. He can only sit there, silent, helpless as the café's stereos begin to play a rainy, evening jazz.

 **3 days later…**

Sayuri is not home today… again.

It's been three days ever since their cold war and he hasn't seen her since then. However, it's good that she's still attending the academy, but she won't talk or sit next to him like usual. The other students began circulating rumor about him finally 'breaking up' with his childhood friend, while those who are sharper suspect them having a fight. Technically, it's not a fight.

It's just another of his mistake and incapability of socializing with others.

He's not dumb. He knows that there is some sort of misunderstanding going on, and it has something to do with jealousy. He'll be honest when asked, yes, he knows that Sayuri likes him more than a friend. More than a childhood friend, perhaps. He knows that the way he acted in the café may seem like he's defending Aya and her friends instead of his more trustworthy childhood who he spent his entire childhood with. However, it was not all his fault. Why feel jealous? Why must she feel jealous when he's conversing with three other girls who he barely even knows about? Was it because due to the little scene in the training ground? If so, why?

He can only sit here, in the same café where their cold war unwillingly started.

"Here. On the house." the barista, the one who makes the coffee, places a cup of steaming hot coffee in front of him. "Love hurts kid, but there's nothing a good cup'o Joe can't do to wash it away."

Naruto's eyes drift towards the seemingly, endless pool of black that hides his reflection. He sighs, before reaching for the cup. He takes a sip, nearly spitting it out.

"…bitter."

" _You… you're hurting me, Naru."_

The grimace on his lips thinned out, leaving a small but sincere frown present on his face. He stands, grabs his book, leaves a tip and then heads toward the door.

He needs advice.

* * *

"…and that's it, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen strokes his beard. He never thought the day that Naruto would consult him with his personal life would come as soon as this… he never thought. Now, how will he do this…? Obviously, he will need to be direct with Naruto and tell him that what he did was wrong, but knowing how the boy acts, he will only demand more reason and answers as to why. He's too old for this…

"…A complicated situation indeed Naruto-kun." Hiruzen mumbles, stroking his beard again. "I'll be honest with you," screw it, he'll be as direct as he wants here. "it's your fault ninety nine percent."

Naruto's stoic gaze somehow looks incredulous. "…that much?"

"That much." Hiruzen confirms with a firm nod.

"…then what's the other one percent?"

The old Kage waves his hand. "It has something to do with you being you, but that's not exactly your fault either." Hiruzen utters the last part softly, so that only he could hear it. "In any case, have you made any attempt in making up yet? You two are so close, it's only natural that you make up after all this."

Naruto shifts uncomfortably in his seat. "I… made some attempt, but Sayuri… she would always have this untouchable feeling around her, this isolation." He's no longer hiding his discomfort, as his normally emotionless face is now showing… helplessness. "It's as if we're strangers."

Hiruzen has heard of many hollow sounding words, but none compared to Naruto's. Hiruzen knows just how important Naruto's and Sayuri's relationship is; it might just be even more important than their career as ninjas and their village combined. They are the perfect pair, always trusting, always healing… but hurting is unavoidable. Hiruzen knows that one day a fight will happen between the two, but for it to be this serious… maybe it would have been better if he hadn't think of that.

Hiruzen is a Kage, his main duty is to protect and maintain peace for his village, his people. But he is also an old man with a family, and Naruto is one. His entire village is his family. And it is his duty, next to being a Kage, to help his family members who are in trouble. The aged Sarutobi leans his head back slightly, tilting his view upwards to the ceiling of the office. It's at times like these where he's actually glad to be old, because at least, like this, he can share his wisdom and experience to the young ones like Naruto without actually sounding hypocritical.

"Tell me, Naruto-kun, what if… what if you see Sayuri-chan being… hugged by three other boys who are about your age even though they are merely talking?" suddenly, Naruto is brought up a question that he never expects.

The bespectacled boy blinks, tilting his head. "…Sayuri will never allow anyone to do that. She'll cut them."

Hiruzen chuckles warmly, shaking his head in amusement. "True, but she will only let one person do that."

Naruto remains confused.

"You."

Still confused.

"Naruto… you are smart." Hiruzen speaks. "No, boy, you are a genius. You are one of the brightest gem that Konoha could produce; you along with Sayuri-chan. But unlike her, you're jaded by doubt."

The old Kage stands.

"Naruto-kun, it seems that you need to learn a little bit more about values."

The boy's eyes narrow analytically. "Value… a person's worth? Price?"

Hiruzen hums. "Not in the financial sense, no." he shakes his head. The Fire Shadow places a wrinkled hand on his left chest, just where his heart is in. "But the value that's in here."

Naruto can only stare in silence.

Hiruzen, despite the boy's confusion, still smiles.

"Remember when I told you that we ninjas have a heart, Naruto-kun?" he sees the boy nodding. "The value that I'm talking about comes from there, the heart. What are these values, you might ask… these values are precious. Based on these values, people will judge you. Based on these values, you will grow. Based on these values, you will become a great ninja. Loyalty, honesty, faith, kindness, love, patience, commitment, devotion, friendship… these are some of the values that we have. Though it is true that as ninjas we may have to abandon some of them, but it is our duty as a person to try and reflect these values."

"You may lack some of them, but Sayuri-chan, she has managed to see them all. She knows your loyalty; she knows that you are willing to do anything for your village. She knows your honesty; she knows that you can't tell direct lies. She knows your faith; she knows that as long as it remains true, you are still yourself. She knows your kindness; she knows just how well you treat others despite how introverted you've made yourself look like. She knows your love; she knows that you care for the person you've met dearly. She knows your patience; she knows what irks and pleases you. She knows your commitment; she knows just how hard you practice in order to be a good ninja. She knows your devotion; she knows how much time you spend reading your book each day. She knows your friendship; she knows that you two are friends. The best of friends."

"But Naruto-kun," Hiruzen asks, softly. "do you know what her values are?"

At that very moment, Naruto felt his stomach sinks in. It's different from the one experienced from feeling fear. It's much, much worse. It appeared due to realization and shame, disappointment in oneself of the highest degree. It's the kind of feeling that makes him want to punch himself repeatedly, dig a hole, and burying himself inside said hole to never come back up again.

"Do you know her honesty? Do you know her faith? Do you know her kindness? Do you know her love? Do you know her patience? Do you know her commitment? Do you know her devotion? Do you know her friendship?" Hiruzen's words are like mental, invisible punches that Naruto feel crushing his lungs.

Naruto is so immersed in self-pitying that he fails to notice the hand that Hiruzen has placed on his right shoulder. "Naruto, there are two best thing that you could do right now. The first thing is to do what you can do and succeed, the second best thing is to do it and fail. The worst that you could do is to do nothing at all."

A little push is what he needs.

"Go, Naruto-kun, get your friend back. And apologize."

Without hesitation or words, Naruto hurries outside.

Hiruzen smiles. "Sometimes, I don't envy the young."

* * *

"Hey."

She opens both eyes and no surprise, she's facing face to face with her childhood friend.

It's… strange. Weird. Normally, it's her who would start the conversation between the two of them. So hearing Naruto speak in an attempt to spark a talk, it's strange even for her. Key word is 'attempt', since she is not going to give him the satisfaction of making her talk easily.

"I… figured that you'd be here." She hears him mumble. "This is your house, after all."

That's right. Ever since their cold war began, she has been living in her old home for obvious reasons. She sees him standing, unmoving right underneath her door frame. She sees an unfamiliar expression on his face, one that she can't really discern or find out. However, one thing she can tell is that he ran all the way to here from wherever he's been. The sweat gathering on his forehead, the sweat spots on his orange t-shirt and slight panting of his lungs.

"I…" for once, she sees him struggling to speak. He swallows down air, hard. "I…"

Silence reigns like a God.

"Come in." she utters.

He steps inside, slips out from his sandals and placing them neatly on the rack. She walks inside with him following behind her in silence. How will he do this? This… this is the first time he's conflicted with foreign feelings that are alien to him and strong at the same time. He does not know how to do this? However, he must apologize. He will apologize.

She leads him into the living room where they usually spend their time in whenever he'd stop by in her house. But this time, it seems like there's this thick wall of ice separating them and preventing them from interacting.

Sayuri takes her place opposite of him, a table in the middle marking the border. Her silence is her way of saying that she wants to hear what Naruto has to say for her. And, thankfully, Naruto catches the meaning.

"Sayuri, I…" he struggles again. It's not the apology that's hard, so what is it? "I… I…"

He gulps one last time.

"I'm sorry."

But he does not stop there.

"I'm… I'm not sensitive, no. In fact, I'm dense. I… find it hard to take other's opinion of me into consideration, I have a hard time in socializing, I'm not good with making friends, it seems that all I enjoy is reading, I rarely talk, I prefer silence, I'm not so keen towards others, I hurt you, I made us fight, I…" he is nearly at the edge of his seat. "I… I don't…. I don't want this to continue. Sayuri, I… you know that I'm not good at things that relates with consideration. But I want to try and be considerate, not only to you, but to others and myself. I promise to try and listen to others even more, I won't read books in the middle of lectures anymore, I'll try to pay attention to people more, and I'll… I'll… I'll share my cookies when the old man visits."

It's hard, seeing him like this. His… stoic self, somehow, breaking down into this panicked and clueless boy who has never been into a fight with a friend… it's almost pitiful.

Naruto… is a lonely boy. Before she met him, he literally has no friends to talk to. All that he has are the books he has with him, nothing more and nothing less. He immerses himself in literature to make up for what he lacks, human interaction. Sayuri knows this. And she realizes that, due to this condition, it prevents him from really… thinking normally. It's not desensitized… no… it's not his fault for becoming insensitive.

"I'm sorry Sayuri, I…" his shoulders visibly slumps. "I'll do my hardest to change, I promise."

"…Don't."

He looks up.

"Don't ever change."

She lunges at him, catching him by surprise. He can feel the tears soaking on his shirt already the moment she buries her face to his chest.

"Don't… change… you can hurt me, make me cry… but don't ever change."

Right there in her tearful embrace, Naruto realizes something. Sayuri does not want him to stop reading books, be a perceptive person or be more active socially. No. All that she wants is for him to be his usual self, spend time with her and be Uzumaki Naruto, not some eccentric, well-liked, shounen protagonist who has to smile in order to get the girls swooning. He stood there under she stops crying, stroking circles on her back until she's calmed down.

When she is silent, Naruto attempts to speak again. "Sayuri, I-"

"Shh…" her muffled shush seeps through his shirt. "You're not supposed to talk at a time like this."

"But my question-"

"About what? My feelings? Our fight?" her voice is muffled by his shirt and chest. "Naru… you're a smart boy, it's obvious that you know my feelings. And about our fight… it's not your fault, I was just being jealous." She admits shamelessly.

"…But I need to answer them."

Her jaw clenches. "…No. Don't." this time, she pulls her face away from him, pushing herself away from him. She purses her lips, kneeling just several distances away from him. "Don't answer them yet…" all it ever was, is a whisper. "I'm… I'm not ready to get my heart broken."

He stares helplessly at the equally helpless girl, speechless.

Sayuri wipes her eyes clear of tears, putting up a smile. "I'm… I'm not ready to hear your answer yet, Naru. Please, tell me when we are older." She leans forward, her forehead touching his, their noses brushing against each other. "For now, let's continue on being a pair of childhood friend that spends time together, hurt each other, and sometimes fight."

He closes his eyes, eyeglasses on the edge. "…Alright."

"Good."

She kisses him.

When their lips touch, it's the same feeling as having electricity coursing through their bodies. The first contact is shocking, and the rest is inseparable. The kiss still resumes for more than a second, two seconds and three seconds. To Naruto, it's another whole new feeling. He knows about kisses, yes, some of the books he reads have those in them. But for him to experience kissing in the flesh… it's really indescribable. He feels something poking his lips, something soft, wet and warm. It takes no more than a second for him to realize that it's in fact Sayuri's tongue.

Carelessly, he opens his mouth for her entrance, and they engage in a sloppy, amateurish, first-time make out session. He feels her hand raking up his hair, chest pressing against his, and slop getting messy all over his chin. There's this heat emanating from Sayuri's chest, or is it his? Either way, for some reason, his hands return her gesture by pulling her body closer to his until they're on the floor with her on top of him. They parted for air, but that's just about it. Sayuri's lead is almost natural, as if she's born to do this for him.

Her moth lets out an octave moan that sends shivers down his spine, as his hands snake its way down to her waist, resting there. He nearly gasps when Sayuri grinds hips against him, an action that catches him by surprise. She becomes fiercer, her hands began to grip his hair in a desperate gesture that increases her erotic visuals even more. She overcomes him in strength, straddling him by putting her full weight on his abdomen with her lips never separating from his.

Their session continues, and Sayuri is already intoxicated.

' _God… I think… I think… I think I'm going to get addicted to this.'_ her inner machination begins to roam wild. Sultry, she pulls away from their lip lock with a loud and intentional breathy gasp. She makes sure that he gets a taste of her breath before she leans back. She now sits on top of him, on his abdomen. She picks up his glasses, wearing it over her eyes. She stares at her childhood friend, whose hair a mess after all the rough handling she pulled against it. She grabs him by his shirt, lifting him up to a seated position, changing their position so that he's sitting on his laps now.

They resume their lip lock and, if anything, Sayuri's more surprised at how Naruto's not resisting even a little bit.

She's not complaining.

Her hands prevent his lips from ever separating from hers as she hugs him by the neck in a firm grip. She can feel the male instincts in Naruto rising, as she feels his hands beginning to roam around her thighs. She gasps when she feels his slightly bigger hands going up her waist, tracing her bodyline.

"Bad Naru." She licks his nose. "Well, I'm bad too, so keep going." That's the longest she's spoken ever since they've entered this session. Frustrated at how slow his hands are going, she grinds her body on him once again, hoping that it will fuel his libido. And it works.

Naruto gets bolder, somehow becoming uncharacteristically braver than usual. He tugs the loose shirt she's wearing, causing the wearer to yelp in pain. "Hey, Naru, sto-uuumpphh!" his mouth silences her. He pulls away from her mouth quickly, and aims for her collarbone. Sayuri is not expecting the assault, so she cries in surprise. Naruto traces his tongue all the way back to her lips, slithering her neck, jaw and chin with his drool.

As his dominance starts to show, his strength grows. Now it's him who's pinning her down on the tatami matted floor. He can feel Sayuri's fingernails digging themselves deeper to his back and her grip on his hair increasing. Their body heat is conjoint, forming one optimal temperature.

He winces when she bites his lower lip, it does not help when he's bleeding. But the taste of blood, saliva and their sweat mixing makes it all the more enjoyable.

They continue until morning

* * *

"…"

She's such a hypocrite.

" _For now, let's continue on being a pair of childhood friend that spends time together, hurt each other, and sometimes fight."_

A huuuuuuge hypocrite.

First thing first, no, they did not cross the line. Thankfully. If that happened, then she doesn't know how she'll see herself or Naruto again. Her head turns to the side, where her childhood is sleeping peacefully like a baby right on the other side of her bed. She notices the state of clothing… or the lack of any. Her shirt is loose, with all the pulling, attempted tearing and gripping, how can it not be? Her hair is a mess, duh. And her breath reeks of Naruto's… that's actually not bad.

"I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot, I'M AN IDIOT." She covers her face with her hands, extremely embarrassed at herself.

"Sayuri…?" a drowsy, still sleepy Naruto, mutters.

"Y-Yes, Naru?" a little bit surprise, Sayuri squeaks. "What is it?"

He does not answer, implying that his brain still needs several second before it can think properly again. "…I'm hungry."

Grinning wryly, the last Uchiha nods. "…Me too, why don't you sleep here while I prepare us some breakfast?"

"Okay."

"What do you wa – on second thought, I only have cereals and milk."

"Is it chocolate milk?"

"It is."

"Then I'll take that. Make sure to warm the milk first." And he's out again.

Sayuri blinks several time, before sighing. "Well, as long as we're not fighting anymore…"

She's still a hypocrite, though. A jealous hypocrite.

* * *

 **Well that's a roller coaster to write. Hope you liked it.**


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